Surrender
by VoldemortsNipple
Summary: She didn't think he would come back, but he did. And he is no longer the man she loves. He is almost gone, almost destroyed. Almost. Almost isn't going to stop her. In fact, it will just make her try harder.
1. Chapter 1

Usagi sat on the boulder, staring into the river in front of her. Surrounding her were bright green grass with beautiful luscious flowers. The air felt and smelt fresh and pure. How nobody had discovered this place was a mystery to her. This boulder and this peaceful little area had become Usagis sanctuary. Whenever she had felt the need to be alone or to think, she came here.

She had discovered it a little over a year ago. The day she had discovered this special place was the same day her future had been erased and rewritten. Unlike the previous version of her future, the current one ahead was not to be known to her. Setsuna had refused to show her the new version, stating that showing her the first time was a mistake, and that the life ahead was never truly set in stone. Usagi was glad, because the day her known future was erased was the day Mamoru had cheated on her.

She still remembered it very clearly too. Walking into his apartment after he canceled a date, claiming to be sick in hopes of making him feel better. Instead, she had found him, clearly healthy, in the shower with another woman. He, nor the woman, had noticed her come into the bathroom. Usagi nearly broke down that day, but instead of letting Mamoru see her crying and hurt, she had taken off her engagement ring and left it on the counter. She spent the next forty five minutes after that wandering around the park before she had stumbled into this little area. It was that little area where she spent an hour crying. Crying for Chibi-Usa, crying for the love that was no more, and crying for the future that will never happen. After she was able to gather herself up, she ran all the way to Haruka and Michiru's condo, demanding to see Setsuna. At first, the refused to let her, but after she had (tearfully) explained to them what she saw, Michiru immediately went to call Setsuna.

Mamoru had tried to feed her the pathetic excuse of "wanting to experiment with different women before being tied down to one" Usagi, with the help of Haruka, was able to explain to him that if he wanted to experiment, he should have done it before they begun a relationship. Then, he pulled the Chibi-Usa card, telling her that she was being selfish for breaking up with him because that would mean that their daughter wouldn't exist. Usagi told him that she knew Chibi-Usa would not want a father who was lying and unfaithful to her mother. After this conversation, Usagi had broken down, but felt immensely better when Setsuna explained to her that Chibi-Usa would still be born, only she wouldn't be the same one that Usagi had met before.

Lately though, Usagi had begun comming to her little sanctuary with more than disturbing thoughts.

Seiya.

Sure, Seiya had popped up in her mind before she broke up with Mamoru, but she immediately pushed them away. He would never return, and she, at the time, had Mamoru. Now, Seiya was showing up in her mind more and more. And Usagi regretted pushing him away. He had shown more affection towards her in the few months he was here then her and Mamorus entire three and a half year relationship. Seiya was more than willing to do anything to make her happy, even when she treated him badly. Even when she had flat out told him she didn't want to be with him, he did everything he could. Mamoru on the other hand, had always been a little cold towards her. Usagi felt that she could be one hundred percent comfortable and herself around Seiya. With Mamoru, she always felt just a little bit awkward, or she found herself trying to act more mature than she really was so that he wouldn't think of her as a child.

Usagi felt angry at herself for letting such a wonderful person slip through her hands. Especially since said wonderful person clung desperately to her fingers.

Usagi was nineteen years old. She shouldn't be feeling the biggest regret of her life.

Other than that, her life was relatively relaxing. It has been two years since her and her friends have had to transform. Two years since some kind of evil force threatened Earth or the future. Although life seemed kind of dull without the constant battling of evil, the former senshi had warmed up to it. The girls had graduated. Ami was, of course, number one in the class and attending the local university, earning her first degree in medicine. Reis grandfather has been feeling like his time was coming, and is currently training Rei to become a priestess and owner of the Temple. Minako had gotten into modeling. So far, she modeled for small companies. None of the girls had any doubt that Minako would hit her first real big break and become famous. Makoto was taking classes at the local college for buisness, in hopes of opening her own restaurant. Usagi, since she had slacked off a lot in school, was now facing the consequences. Up until very recently, she had no clue what she wanted to do with herself until one day, she attended a medical class with Ami.

Usagi wanted to become a nurse. That way, she could use her positive and loving energy to brighten peoples day while doing minor medical work. It felt perfect for her.

Usagi stood up and stretched. It was getting late, and tonight, it was her turn to make dinner for herself and Minako, who had became roommates. As she began her climb up the hill, she fumbled in her purse for her cell phone. While distracted, she tripped over a rock and fell. Oddly enough, the grass wasn't what broke her fall. It was a young man.

"Oi! Watch where you're going! What are you blind?" the sarcastic tone in his voice was strikingly familiar. As Usagi got to her knees, she noticed the young man in sunglasses quickly tuck a few fallen strands of long silver hair back into his hat.

There was only one person she had met in her entire life who had that long, shimmery silver hair.

"Yaten!"

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A/N: What do you think? Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Yaten looked up, stunned at the sound of his name. His mouth dropped open when he realized who he was talking to. He quickly stood up.

"I am not Yaten," he stupidly said as he turned around, in hopes of making an escape. Usagi grabbed his arm and pulled him back. _Is it just him? _she thought. _Where is Seiya and Taiki? _Yaten tried to pull himself out of her grip for a moment, then gave up when he realized that it was Usagi he was dealing with. Usagi would tell her friends he was here and together, they would hunt him down to the ends of the Earth. Before he could stop her, Usagi quickly pulled off his sunglasses.

"Don't lie to me Yaten," she said. "Silver hair and bright green eyes? Who would forget that?" Yaten remained silent, trying to ignore the blonde. Silence, then...

"YATEN!" Usagi cried excitedly, after realizing that that her eyes were in fact not playing any tricks on her. She squeezed him to the point where he could barely breathe. Yaten hid a smile. He had to admit that he had missed the crazy Earth girls while he was in Kinmoku. He quickly turned his hidden smile into a sarcastic sigh. "We missed you guys so much!" she squealed.

"Yeah yeah of course you did. Will you get off of me?" he said. Usagi gave him one final squeeze before letting him go. When she stepped back was when he was really able to get a good look at her. Her hair was in its usual style, two buns on top of her head with long golden hair streaming from each. She wore a pink T shirt over a white long sleeved shirt with blue jeans. She looked pretty much the same, only a little bit older and more mature. "I have to go," he said, as he turned to leave.

"No!" Usagi cried, grabbing his arm to stop him. "You just got here! Why do you have to go? I just saw you again!" she said. Yaten adjusted his hat and said nothing. "How long have you been here?"

"Seven months," Yaten muttered. Usagis mouth dropped open in shock.

"Seven months?!" Usagi cried. "And you didn't think to call any of us? Yaten what happened? Is Seiya and Taiki here too? Hows Kakyuu?" she asked.

"Geeze! You only saw me for three minutes and you're already bombarding me with questions? What kind of shit is that?" he cried. Usagi sighed.

"At least tell me if Seiya and Taiki are here too," Yaten froze and bit his lip.

"Taiki is here," he said finally. "Seiya isn't," The look of disappointment and sadness that came across her face did not go unnoticed by him. "What do you care whether or not he's here?" Yaten spat angrily. Usagi looked at him with wide eyes.

"He's my friend and I really care about him! I miss him! Why are you so mad about that?" she asked. _Bullshit, _he thought. Her 'care' went beyond what she tried to make it seem. Yatens intuition never failed him.

"What about your darling Mamoru?" Yaten asked with a sneer.

"We broke up," Usagi said, confused. "He cheated on me,"

"Swell," Yaten said with as much sarcasm as he could. "So now you're going to the second best option? Seiya is not your toy,"

"What?! No!" Usagi cried, hurt clear in her face and voice. "How could you say that?"

"Seiya is in Kinmoku because he found somebody else," Yaten said. Though her face remained still, he could see the shock in her eyes. The hurt practically radiated off her body. Weather it was from him yelling at her or him telling her that Seiya found someone else remained a mystery. "What? Did you expect him to sit around waiting for the rest of his life for the chance of you possibly breaking up with Mamoru and go crying to him? He moved on!"

"You don't have to be so harsh," Usagi said. "And you know what? I'm happy for him. I adore Seiya and I'm pretty sure you know that. If he is happy with someone else, fine," Alright. Her hurt came from both. She paused for a moment, then decided to change the subject. "Anyways, why don't you and Taiki come by my apartment? We've all missed you guys. We can have a welcome back party,"

"We can't," Yaten said. "We're busy," They sat down in the grass and Yaten took his hat off. His long silver hair was still in its usual ponytail.

"With what? I didn't hear anything on the news about you guys. Whats going on?"

"Ahh...school. We're in college now," he said.

"What classes are you taking?" Usagi asked. _God dammit _he thought. _This girl never stops pressing for information._

"I have to go," he said again, standing up. Usagi frowned.

"No Yaten don't go! At least come over for a little bit!" she offered

"Look Usagi. I came here to relax. Not to run into you. I've already taken too much time and I need to get back to Taiki," he said, a bit more harshly then intended.

"At least take down Minako's number! She would be so happy to see you!" Yaten sighed. When they first planned to come back to Earth, the starlights were excited to see their friends, and Yaten was especially looking forward to seeing the crazy girl in the red bow who could never leave him alone. Not that he was willing to admit it anytime soon. But now things had changed, and Yaten and Taiki couldn't see their friends. It wasn't that they didn't want to, because they did. They just...couldn't.

"Fine. But don't go telling all your friends that we're here. Last thing I need is a bunch of crazy Earth girls hovering over my apartment in hopes to catch a glimpse. I'll call Minako when I'm ready," Usagi stood up and held her arms out for a hug. Yaten stared at her for a moment. His bright green eyes now had a dark look to them. Like he was troubled.

"Are you okay?" she asked him. Yaten blinked, then gave her a one armed hug.

"I'm fine," he said. Usagi nodded, and she gave him Minako's number then, she watched him leave. It wasn't until he had disappeared from view when she realized that his sunglasses were still in her hand.

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You know what would really make my day? If you hit the little review button at the bottom of the page :)

-VoldemortsNipple


	3. Chapter 3

Usagi dug out Yatens orange sunglasses from her nightstand drawer and stared at it as if it would explain what was going on with him. She found herself doing this quite a few times in the past two days. Two days since she had seen Yaten, and she couldn't, for the life of her, figure out why Yaten had been so hostile towards her. Yaten always seemed to have a sarcastic remark to everything, but he was never as mean to her as he was. The only time he had had that kind of attitude towards her was when...

Upon realization, Usagi let out a small gasp and tightly gripped the sunglasses. _When Seiya had literally tried to throw everything aside for her. _Of course! Before they had learned of each others identities, Yaten was sarcastic towards her. But upon learning identities and when Seiya had jeopardized himself, the mission, and his fellow teammates was when Yaten really seemed to turn against her. Was Seiya here now? Did they lose their princess again? Was there another mission they were on that required their full undivided attention? But there was that look in his eye. Something happened. Now, Usagi had begun to doubt what Yaten was telling her.

"Luna!" she called, putting the sunglasses back into the nightstand. A few moments later, Luna pushed her way through the door.

"Yes Usagi?" she asked. When Luna looked up at her princess, she saw a seriousness that she had rarely seen before.

"Can you do me a favor?" Usagi asked. She gave her the address of the Starlights apartment, but refused to tell Luna what to look for. "Just go in there and tell me what you see. Everything that you see okay?" Luna frowned up at her.

"This had better be important Usagi. Don't send me on a wild goose chase for some boy you happen to find attractive," Usagi laughed and shook her head.

"No Luna it's more important than that!" she said. "And do me another favor. If you see anything out of the ordinary, please don't tell the other girls. Tell me and only me okay?" Luna nodded and jumped out the window. Usagi looked out the window until Luna disappeared from view. After staring off into space for a moment, she stood up and headed towards the kitchen, where Minako was erratically busy preparing a salad. "Minako! Salad again?" Minako giggled.

"Soon to be models need to keep up their shape!" she said excitedly as she grabbed some carrots from the refrigerator. Upon noticing Usagi's disgusted face, Minako laughed. "Oh don't worry honey these carrots are for me! Not you," Usagi sighed with relief, and then sat against the edge of the table.

"Another modeling audition?" Usagi asked. Usually, Minako would make relatively healthy foods such as fish, broiled chicken and salads until an audition call came up. Then she would spend about a week obsessing over different kinds of salads and fish. Usually, when Usagi cooked, she would make meals right out of the box or heat up something frozen. After a few years of trying to learn from Makoto how to cook, she gave up when she nearly burned down her kitchen.

"Yup!" Minako squealed. "Next week. Guess what the audition is for?"

"What? What? Tell me!" Usagi cried.

"Its for Cosmo! It's big time audition now my love. In fact, my agent sent them my portfolio, and its been pre-approved for second round! I already made it past first rounds!" At this, Usagi jumped up and squealed in delight.

"Minako that's AWSOME!" she cried, throwing her arms around her. Together, the girls did a little happy dance in the kitchen. After a few minutes, Usagi stopped and opened the fridge. "I'm starving and we should celebrate," she said to herself. One thing about Usagi that hasn't changed in the slightest since she was sixteen was her appetite. In face, her roaring appetite seemed to grow over the years.

"You are always starving!" Minako giggled. Her eyes widened when Usagi pulled out a giant slice of leftover chocolate cake Makoto had made the week before. "Usa don't eat that!" she exclaimed. "You're making me hungry!" Usagi responded with a smile. She stood up with a piece of cake on her fork and she begun poking it in Minakos face.

"Eat it," she said. Minako jumped away.

"Usagi! I have an audition!" she cried. Usagi smiled sweetly before she began to chase Minako around the kitchen and living room in an attempt to make her eat the cake. After all, the audition _was _next week and it was only Tuesday now. Why was Minako so worried? Usagi couldn't understand.

"Minako I am your princess and I order you to eat this cake!" Usagi exclaimed, stopping and looking upon her with her most royally acceptable you-better-listen-to-me tone. Minako snorted.

"Does this look like the moon to you? We are on Earth honey. I don't have to listen to you yet," she giggled. After a few moments of trying to keep a serious face, Usagi broke into giggles too. While Minakos mouth was open in laughter, Usagi stuck the fork with the cake on it in her mouth. Minako shut her mouth and glared at her best friend for a few seconds, then she slowly began to chew. "Damn you Usagi," she muttered after swallowing it. The girls sat at the table and began to chat about Minakos potential modeling career while munching on the big bowl of salad. Before long, Luna came jumping in through the open living room. As soon as Usagi saw her, she stood up.

"I'll be right back," Usagi said as she tried not to run to her room. As soon as Luna followed her in, Usagi shut the door and looked expectantly at the little black cat. "So? Did you see anything?" she asked. Luna jumped on her bed and sat, looking as official as possible.

"The Starlights are back," she said simply. "I'm honestly quite surprised they would stay in the same place as they did in their last visit. At first I didn't recognize it, but as soon as I saw the building, I did," Usagi sat on the bed and began stroking Lunas head.

"So what were they doing?" Usagi asked. Luna coughed.

"Well they were in their male forms so I will address them as they are in male forms. Taiki was in the kitchen. I couldn't tell what he was doing since I was sitting in a tree and was looking in at an angle. Yaten was reading what looked like a magazine and Seiya-"

"Seiya's here?" Usagi interrupted. Luna frowned, looked up at her, and nodded. Then, Luna frowned even more when she saw Usagis eyes light up.

"Yes. He was sleeping on the couch. I couldn't see his face since he was turned away from me but I recognized the hair," Usagi stood up abruptly and ran out the door. At this Luna sighed, and jumped off the bed to follow when she heard the front door slam. Alarmed, she padded out to the living room where Minako was throwing the used salad bowl in the sink. "Where did Usagi go?" she asked her.

"I don't know," Minako replied as she began rinsing dishes. "She just said she needed to pick something up real fast," Luna sighed. Usagi always seemed to do this. She always had this need to know everything about everybody all the time. Luna knew that this urge that Usagi had came from her love and devotion to her friends. She always needed to know that they were alright and happy. Luna ran to the window.

"I'll be back Minako," she said.

"Okie dokie," Minako replied as she set the dishes in the dishwasher. Luna nosed her way through the window and jumped out. After climbing safely to the ground, she noticed that Usagis car was gone. Then, she ran as fast as she could back to the Starlights apartment.

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Reviews make me smile =]

-VoldemortsNipple


	4. Chapter 4

She parked into an empty parking space close to her destination and turned off her car. She then jumped out, locked the door, threw the keys in her purse, and began to quickly walk towards the apartment with her heart thumping madly in her chest. At this point, she felt as if her brain were swimming in a thick, murky fog. Why would Yaten lie about Seiya? If there was something going on, Usagi felt as if she should do anything in her power to help. They were her friends, and she loved them. She sighed as she began to slow down her pace entering the building.

_What if they kick me out? What if Seiya hates me for what I did to him? What if Yaten gets mad? _The what-ifs ran through her mind, and each one seemed to slow her steps until she finally stopped altogether in the hallway. If she turned around and walked out, she would still be at peace with Yaten and they could come to her on their own terms. But then, if she were to go in there asking to see Seiya, she would most likely find out what was going on, see him, and see if she could help, especially since the Starlights were very reluctant in asking for help themselves. Maybe she can even convince the trio to see her friends, who missed them dearly. Usagi held her head high and began slowly walking towards their apartment. Just as the apartment door came into view, it opened, and Usagi threw herself behind a corner so she would not be seen. Slowly, she peeked around the corner to see Taiki gently shut the door before proceeding in the opposite direction. She resisted the strong urge to run up behind him and greet him with a hug, than slowly made her way to the apartment door. She stood in front of it for a moment, than knocked. No response. She knocked again, this time louder. Still, there was no response. She grumbled to herself. Why did this have to be so hard? Then, she swallowed her growing worry, opened the door, and stepped inside. The first thing she did was glance at the couch. The pillows were messily spread across the couch, but Seiya wasn't there. She slowly walked towards the kitchen when she saw a man with his back facing her leaning over the sink. He had that way too familiar long raven hair thrown into a ponytail.

"SEIYA!" Usagi cried as she ran up behind him and threw her arms around his waist. Seiya responded by screaming.

"LET GO LET GO! GET AWAY FROM ME LET GO!" he cried as he quite viciously, threw her off. A very surprised Usagi landed on her back on the floor. Seiya had then backed up against the counter with a look of pure terror on his face. He grabbed the nearest object, a fork, and shakily pointed it at her. "Don't touch me!" he cried. Usagi stared at the fork and felt her eyes tear up, but she quickly blinked them away. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Then, she looked up slowly and took in his appearance.

He looked like he went through hell. His normally glowing creamy skin was now extremely pale and sick looking. He lost most of his muscle and looked very skinny. His hair had lost its shine and his normally mischievous glint that shone in his eyes was gone and replaced by a dark, angry, fearful look.

"Seiya! Its m-" she began as she slowly stood up and held up her hands to show that she wasn't going to hurt him. She was interrupted by the sound of a door being thrown open. In the hallway, a concerned Yaten stood at the door with dripping wet hair and a towel around his waist. As soon as he saw Usagi, a flame of anger lit up in his eyes.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?" he roared. Usagi paled and took a few steps back as he began to stomp towards her. "HOW DARE YOU BREAK IN INTO OUR FUCKING APARTMENT? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU YOU-"

"Stop! Please don't! Yaten please!" Seiya begged as he fell on his knees to the floor. "Don't hurt her please don't please," At this, Yaten instantly stopped and looked at him. After throwing Usagi an angry glare, he kneeled down to look at Seiya.

"Seiya I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled and I wasn't going to hurt her. I promise you I wasn't going to hurt her," Yaten said as soothingly as he could. Seiya crawled away from him and a few tears began to slide down his cheeks.

"Bu-" he was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. Usagi looked to see a shocked Taiki standing in the doorway holding an armload of mail.

"Usagi? What are you doing over here? Yaten!" he called.

"I'm in here you moron," Yaten called back. Taiki threw the mail on the couch and walked into the kitchen. When he saw the crying Seiya, his eyes began to flicker between Usagi and Yaten.

"What is she doing here? Why did you let her come? What happened?" he asked. Yaten stood up.

"What do you mean why did I let her come? She broke in while I was taking a shower! I didn't know she was here until Seiya started screaming!"

"Well how does she know we're here?" Yaten didn't respond so he turned to Usagi. "How did you know we were here?" he asked. Usagi bit her lip and swallowed.

"I saw Yaten two days ago. We talked and he told me it was only you two and that Seiya was back on Kinmoku. I thought he was lying so I sent Luna here and she said she saw Seiya on the couch. I thought something might have been wrong so I came to see if I could help," Taiki frowned, and then turned to Yaten.

"Why didn't you tell me you saw her?" he asked.

"I didn't know I was supposed to! And I certainly didn't think that she was going to stalk me and break into our apartment! I thought she might have gained some common sense and realized that we wanted nothing to do her or her crazy stalker friends!" Taiki sighed then looked back at Seiya.

"Seiya what happened?" he asked in a gentle voice.

"She jumped on me and scared me and he," Seiya pointed at Yaten, who bit his lip and stared angrily at the floor, "came and started yelling. I thought he was going to hurt her," Taiki gently grabbed Seiyas hand.

"Yaten wasn't going to hurt anybody. He was just mad and he wasn't thinking. You remember Usagi right?" Seiya slowly stood up and looked at Usagi. He nodded.

"Yes. Odango," he said. Taiki smiled.

"Stay here. I need to talk to Yaten. Talk to Usagi okay?" Seiya nodded, then Taiki gently took Usagis arm pulled her aside.

"Taiki I'm so sorry! I didn't mea-" she began, nearly in tears.

"First of all, you shouldn't be breaking into other peoples apartments. How old are you? Twenty?"

"Nineteen,"

"Nineteen is more than old enough to know not to go sneaking into apartments. You had no right to do that and don't you ever do that again. Especially here. Do your friends know we're here?" he asked. Usagi shook her head and Taiki sighed in relief. "Don't tell them until we say it's okay. Don't be sorry about scaring Seiya. You didn't know, obviously,"

"What happened to him? Why is he like this?"

"Yaten and I might tell you later. Just know that he had a very traumatic experience so don't raise your voice, don't make any sudden movements, don't touch him, and don't ask him any questions about what happened to him. He is not the same person anymore. We were hiding from you and our other friends until he healed some more. Go talk to him. I need to talk to Yaten," With that, he let go of her and turned to face Yaten. "Yaten. Go to my room, now,"


	5. Chapter 5

After Yaten put on a T shirt and some boxers, he went into Taikis room for the talk he did not want to have. Taiki was going to use this as the perfect opportunity to tell that nosy, ditsy blond what happened to Seiya. This was personal matters. The last thing that would help Seiya was having some girl he barely remembers barging in as she pleases with every trait that would make him worse.

"Sit," Taiki said, pointing at his bed. Yaten sighed and sat down.

"Now don't go telling me we need to tell Usagi and the other girls about Seiya. He needs to be helped by the people who know him the best. Not the girl who broke his heart," Taiki sighed.

"Yaten, if we don't tell her, she'll try and find out what happened to him on her own. Seiya needs all the help he can get from all the people who care about him. Look Yaten. I don't want to tell anyone. I don't-"

"Then why are you suggesting it?!" Yaten cried. "Just drop the subject, make her leave, and we'll move on! Hell, lets move! It was a stupid idea coming back to this apartment in the first place! Lets just move somewhere so we don't have to wor-"

"We are not moving. We need to think of Seiya. Not ourselves," Taiki said firmly. "He remembers her. He adored her when we were here before. I think she will help him," Yaten opened his mouth to protest but Taiki quickly cut him off. "I love our friends here as much as you do, but I don't want them around as much as you do. AND I also love Seiya as much as you do. I want the best for him and I think the best thing to do is let someone else in that he loves. He needs all the support he can get," Yaten sighed. He never won fights with Taiki.

"Lets go," The pair walked out. In the kitchen, Seiya had set down the fork, but hadn't moved away from the counter. Usagi was sitting at the table, and she was awkwardly telling him how she's been the last few years. They looked up when they say Yaten and Taiki come in.

"Usagi can I talk to you?" Taiki asked, motioning for her to follow him.

"What do you mean can YOU talk to her?" Yaten cried.

"Stay here with Seiya," Taiki said. "Usagi follow me," Usagi slowly stood up and followed Taiki to his room. Her heart was pounding. Something was very wrong. That wasn't Seiya. The Seiya she had talked to just now was terrified, lost, and obviously hurt. Taiki held open the door, and shut it after Usagi came in. "Sit down," he said, pointing towards his bed. Usagi slowly sat down and looked at him.

"What happened to him? Usagi asked. Taiki sighed. _Here we go._

"Being a Sailor Soldier at Kinmoku is a lot like how it is here. We routinely get new enemies who try to take over so they could do what they wish. After Galaxia, however, we didn't get any new enemies for a long time until about eleven months ago. Kinmoku was invaded by a new enemy called the Sirens. They came from a dying planet called Sirenia and they invaded Kinmoku to gather a special kind of energy. They want the energy of a fighter. They want the energy of determination, hope, and courage. They don't care much about taking life energy. They want the strength and courage. That is what they lack. They take that energy so they could live off of it and protect themselves," Usagi frowned.

"So is-" She began, but Taiki interrupted her.

"Let me finish. The Sirens desires make them sound helpless and weak. It's a pity really, that they have no inner strength for themselves. They can't fight or protect themselves and their planet and it's sad. At least that is what I'm assuming. I spent weeks looking them up and trying to learn about them. Unfortunately, not much is known about them and I can't think of another reason as to why they want that certain kind of energy. My beliefs regarding their motives are only theories. Anyways, the Sirens are heartless. They have a unique way of taking the energy they want. They don't just grab you and vacuum the energy from you. They take you and read your mind. They find out all of your fears and hurts and make it reality. They do something, I'm not sure what, to make you think that all of your worst fears are comming true. When you're in that state of fear, you put up a mental defense. You try and protect yourself from whatever is happening. When you fear something happening to someone else, they make it happen in front of you so that you will want to stop whatever is going on, and when you're living your worst fears is when they drain you of the courage you're forced to use to face it, the determination you use to survive it, and the hope you have that it will be over. When they are done, the only thing that is left is the shell of the person who used to be. Once those strengths are gone is when the person begins to break down. It's very hard for them to heal because they take all the energy you need to heal. Very few people fully recover. Most people recover to some extent, but it takes a long time. Some people are comepletly destroyed with no hope of recovery," At this explanation, tears began to slide down Usagis cheeks.

"That's what happened to Seiya wasn't it?" Taiki nodded.

"We didn't even know the Sirens existed until about about two months after they came. People begun disappearing at a rapid pace. People were getting terrified and many wouldn't leave their homes unless it was absolutely necessary. Eventually, Seiya, well, Star Fighter, went out to do her usual patrol and she never came back. A few days later, someone had escaped from the Sirens and was able to come to us and tell us what was going on. We went and were able to find, fight and destroy their ship. In the process, we were able to save most of the people. It was horrific, the way we found them. People were in cages, screaming at each other, and there were people in these machines. It looked like glass coffins and there were people in there,"

Taiki bit his lip and threw his head back, fighting tears. "Some weren't moving, some were crying, and some were beating the crap out of themselves, or just fighting who-knows-what in those coffin things. Star Fighter was in one of those machines, screaming and kicking, like she was fighting something. Everyone we found, including Star Fighter, were taken to Medical Wards. All were dehydrated and malnourished. They were weak, and were in horrible conditions. Star Fighter was in the hospital for six days. She was finally released back to us, and she didn't talk at all for two weeks. She wouldn't eat, drink, or leave her room. We eventually had to have someone force feed her. Star Fighter got scared, destroyed her room, and nearly killed the nurse. After a few months, Fighter recovered just a little bit, and Kakyuu decided it would be best if we were to return to Earth. That way, it would be more peaceful and there wouldn't be so many bad memories. Earth was our favorite place, and she thought that it would speed up the recovery,"

"You've been here seven months," Usagi whispered. Taiki handed her a box of kleenex so she could wipe her face.

"Seiya only recovered another little bit. He refuses to leave the house and will not let Yaten or me leave either. He thinks that if we leave, we're never coming back. No matter how many times we proved to him that we will always come back, he wont accept it. He eats on his own, but doesn't eat very much. He can't be touched, he can't hear loud noises, and he can't be surprised. That is why we didn't want to see you and our other friends just yet. We want him to be well enough to leave the house and talk to other people. Or talk in general. He hardly ever talks. Its been six months since he made any more improvement. It doesn't seem likely that we're going to accomplish more that that. He's always isolated himself and refuses to let Yaten or me in. As a matter of fact, he barely acknowledges us unless it's to prevent us from going out. He's in his own world,"

"How could you say that? He'll recover! He has to! What did they show him?" Usagi cried.

"We don't know what they showed him. Usagi, I want him to recover more than you do but it doesn't seem likely. He's pretty much gone," Usagi stood up.

"Pretty much?" she said. Taiki nodded. "So it's not an official 'he's gone,'"

"I don't think he's completely gone. He's aware of his surroundings he just blocks it all out,"

"So almost. Almost is not enough to give up. If he lost all hope, we need to give it to him,"

"Usagi It's not as simple as th-" he stopped when Usagi left his room. "Usagi!" Usagi ignored him, marched into the living room where Seiya was laying on the couch staring off into space. She keeled down about a foot away from him and looked him directly in the eye.

"You will recover," she said. Seiya stared back at her, and for a moment, his eyes flickered with recognition.

"Usagi!" Taiki grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up. Seiya jumped up.

"No! Don't! Please stop please!" he cried. Usagi twisted her arm out of Taikis grasp, grabbed her purse, and walked out of the apartment.

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A/N: Review please? =]


	6. Chapter 6

"Usagi? Usagi!" Ami scolded, waving her hand in front of Usagis face. Right now, Usagi was at Amis house, and Ami was preparing her for the test she would need to take to get into the nursing classes she wished to take. Unfortunately, nothing was able to get done since Usagi was paying no attention.

Yesterday, Usagi had run from the Starlights apartment and she regretted it. Seiya was her friend. She loved him, and truth be told, it scared her that he was in that state. Usagi was going to do whatever it took to help him regain his life, but she honestly had no idea where to start. Ever since she left, she was in a permanent fog. She was unable to think, concentrate, or go on with the day. In fact, she hadn't gone this long without eating since she tried that stupid fad diet back when she was in middle school.

"Usagi are you okay?" Ami asked, closing the textbook she was using as reference. Usagi shook her head.

"I have a lot of things on my mind," she replied, falling backwards onto the floor. "Ami, what would you do if somebody went through something so traumatizing, it killed them?" Ami frowned.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You know how if a girl gets raped or something it can be so scary for her that she is just afraid of everything and it kills her? Not send her to her grave kills her, but kills who she is, so that she's no longer the same person?" Now, Ami gave her a confused look.

"Why would you ask something like that?" Ami asked.

"I saw it in a movie. If you knew somebody that that happened to, what would you do to help them go back to normal?" Ami was reluctant to believe her. Usagi was pretty easy to read. There was no way she would be this upset over a movie.

"Well, I would just try and treat them as much like their old self as possible. Show them that life goes on and that there is always recovery. Why? Did something happen?" Usagi shook her head.

"No. Here open that book again," Usagi said, giving Ami her best smile. "I have to leave in half an hour. Let's get as much done as we can," Ami nodded, opened the book, and began to explain the measurements.

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Taiki rubbed his forehead and tried to ignore the screams coming from Seiyas room. Ever since he had come back from the medical ward in Kinmoku, Seiya had been plagued with nightmares a few times a week. At first, he and Yaten had tried to wake him up, but doing that resulted in more bad then good.

Yaten and Taiki didn't really care when Seiya had bruised them up in the midst of his thrashings. They would do anything to make sure Seiya was as comfortable and safe as possible, but the last time they tried to wake him up ended in disastrous results.

"_Christ is he having another nightmare?" Yaten asked when Seiyas all too familiar screaming began. The pair immediately stood up and ran to Seiyas room. In his bed, Seiya was already covered in a slick coat of sweat and was madly thrashing around, as if he was trying to fight somebody off._

"_Seiya!" Taiki cried, kneeling down next to his bed. He began patting Seiyas face. "Come on get up! It's not real! Wake up!" In his thrashing, Seiya had smacked Taiki across the face. For a moment, Taiki saw stars._

"_SEIYA! WAKE UP!" Yaten yelled, as he kneeled on Seiyas bed. He franticly tried to grab Seiyas arms while ignoring the hits Seiya was administering to his chest, face, and arms. Taiki stood up and wiped his eyes just in time to see Yaten grab one of Seiyas wrists, only to have his other hand find its way to his neck. As Seiya began to squeeze, Yaten dropped his wrist in surprise and tried to cry out. Seiya immediately latched his other hand in a firm lock around Yatens throat and began to squeeze. His screaming ceased._

"_I'll KILL YOU!" Seiya roared. Yaten franticly began to struggle, trying to pry his hands. Taiki cried out in shock when he realized that Seiya was dead serious. Taiki jumped on the bed and quickly tried to pull Seiyas hands off. It didn't work. Yaten was now turning into a sickly shade of blue and his eyes began to water. Ignoring Seiyas yelling, Taiki leaned over on Seiyas arm and bit it as hard as he could. Seiya cried out and let go of Yaten. Before he could clasp the hand back on, Taiki used all of his force and strength to push Yaten off the bed. As Yaten fell to the ground, Seiya lost grip of his throat with his other hand. Taiki jumped off the bed to check on Yaten just as Seiya woke up. Ignoring Seiyas shocked and confused staring; he dragged Yaten, who was gasping for air, out of the room. Taiki shut the door and turned around to face him. While still gasping for air, Yaten burst into tears._

_That was the first time Taiki had ever seen Yaten cry._

Ever since then, they had stopped trying to wake Seiya. In his sleep, he was dangerous. While awake, he was usually quiet. Occasionally, he would talk. Once, a bit of the old Seiya shined after once calling Yaten short-shit, one of his favorite nicknames. Other than that one time several weeks ago, nothing happened.

As Seiyas screams finally began to die down, Taiki let his mind wander to Usagi. She was obviously heartbroken seeing Seiya like this, but the determination in her eyes was fierce. Unlike Yaten, Taiki did not doubt that Usagi would be able to help him. In fact, Taiki thought that there was a great chance of his condition improving. He needed to improve. After knowing Seiya for the nearly twenty years of their life, it was impossible to get used to this. Taiki sighed as Seiyas crying finally faded away.

A year ago, Taiki was often annoyed at Seiyas constant pranks, immaturity, cockiness, and annoying habits. Now, Taiki would give up his transformation badge to have the old Seiya back.

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Review!


	7. Chapter 7

Yaten stretched his back as he made his way to the kitchen. It was a beautiful afternoon, and it was among the days where he had gotten at least a decent amount of sleep. He made his way to the refrigerator when he heard, all of a sudden, a loud banging on the front door. He groaned, and yelled at the offending knocker.

"HOLD ON!" he yelled as he took a peach from the refrigerator. As he took a bite out of it, he looked through the peephole of the door to see Usagi standing there with a paper bag in her hand. He grumbled to himself and opened the door. "What?" Usagi held up an In N Out burger bag.

"For Seiya," she said. "Burgers are his favorite food right? I'm bringing him the best damn burger there is," She pushed her way inside and set the bag on the kitchen counter.

"You're breaking in again?" Yaten cried. "Damn it Usagi! You have no respect!" Usagi ignored him and headed straight to Seiyas room. Yaten followed her. "Hey you better not be...Usagi don't go into his room!" he grabbed her arm and pulled her back as she reached for the door. "Look you inconsiderate twit. Seiya is not only unstable, hes dangerous. He can hurt you. He needs to-" They were interrupted when Seiya opened the door and jumped back in surprise at the two people standing dangerously close to the door. "Seiya!" Yaten cried in surprise. Usagi smiled.

"Hey Seiya!" Usagi said, happily but softly. Seiya nervously chewed his lip, but didn't step back. "Come out! Guess what? I brought you a surprise," she turned around and walked out towards the kitchen. Yaten took a few steps forward and watched out of the corner of his eyes, Seiya slowly walk forward after them with a worried and bewildered expression on his face. Usagi turned around at the end of the hall and flashed him a sweet smile. A horrified expression conquered his face and the next thing Usagi knew, Seiya had pretty much thrown Yaten aside, grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her back into the hallway. Tears began to swell in his eyes as he fell to his knees, nearly pulling her down with him. Usagi froze, not knowing what do. She looked desperatly at Yaten, who stood up with a strange look on his face before he realized what was going on. He knelt down beside Seiya and very gently began to pry his hands off of her arm.

"No don't!" Seiya cried, squeezing his hand tighter.

"She's okay Seiya," Yaten said in a soft voice. "Nobody is out there and nobody will get her. She'll be safe. There's nothing to be afraid of," Seiya shook his head and refused to let go. "She isn't going to leave you," Yaten continued, as he continued trying to loosen his fingers. Seiya angrily turned away, swinging Usagi along with him. She squealed as his grip tightened to the point where his knuckles went white. Yatens eyes widened as he left the two and went into Taikis room.

"Taiki!" he called. Taiki rolled over in his bed.

"What?" he asked, annoyed. Unlike Yaten, he did not get a good nights sleep, and he was extremely cranky.

"Seiya," he said, as he turned around. Taiki threw off the covers and ran after Yaten. Now, Usagi was in tears from the pain, Yaten was trying to comfort Seiya, and Seiya was mumbling something to himself with a frantic, worried expression. As he got closer, he could make out Yaten trying to tell Seiya to let go of Usagi. "Seiya you're hurting her," he said. "Look at her. Let her go. There isn't anything to worry about," Seiya shook his head. Taiki knelt down, grabbed his wrist, and tried to pull his hand off her arm. Seiya cried out in surprise, and used all his force to push Taiki back. Taiki grunted as he hit the wall. Seiya jumped away from the two and pulled Usagi up with him. Taiki stood up and a worried Yaten grabbed Seiyas arm. "Taiki grab her," he cried, ignoring Seiya and his rising temper. Taiki grabbed Usagis arm and pulled it as hard as he could. Seiya finally lost his grip and Usagi was free. Terrified, Usagi scrambled against the wall as far away from the three as she could. Light red marks began to appear on her arms where his nails had dug in. She looked up to see Seiya beginning to scream and hit Taiki and Yaten.

"STOP!" Taiki cried as he pushed Seiyas arm down. Seiya kicked him in the leg and began screaming like a terrified animal. Usagi watched in amazement as they struggled to hold him down. "Usagi you need to leave. Now," He yelled over Usagis screams. Usagi slowly shook her head. She couldn't leave them. Seiya needed her and it was tearing her apart watching them. As she watched the struggle, the reason for Yatens disturbing look dawned on her. They were prisoners in their own home. Whatever Seiya had went through was so bad that he had lost virtually all control of himself. He was unpredictable, and Yaten nor Taiki wanted, nor couldn't leave him. The constant worry, struggles, and pain Yaten and Taiki were going through was taking its toll on them. Yatens was always on edge, she could tell he was repressing his temper and now that she looked at him, he had lost quite a bit of weight. Taiki just looked plain depressed, and the bags under his eyes were an obvious sign that he hadn't slept since Seyias incident. Adrenaline rushed through Usagis body like a tsunami, and she found herself standing up and pushing the two away. Almost immediately, Seiya latched himself to her, and squeezed so tight, she lost her breath. She ignored the pain of Seiyas nails digging into her flesh and looked at the shocked expressions of Taiki and Yaten.

"OUT. Both of you. NOW," she said in a stern voice. Taiki shook his head.

"Usagi that can't-"

"Nothing is going to change if it goes on like this. I want both of you out now. Take the day with yourselves. Get out. If not, I'll throw you out," Yatens mouth dropped open.

"YOU CAN'T KICK US OUT OF OUR OWN FUCKING HOUSE!" he roared. At the yell, Seiyas eyes widened and he gripped her harder. She struggled, trying to give herself some breathing room. Taiki sensed what she was trying to do and walked to Yaten.

"Yaten lets go," he said. Yaten looked at him in disbelief.

"Are you serious?" he cried. "You can't be serious!" Taiki pulled him off the floor. He began to pull him into the hallways, away from Seiya.

"I trust her," Taiki said. "We need to trust her and we need to leave," Yaten stared at him in shock as he closed the door to his room.

"You're serious," he said as he went into his own room and began to change into another change of clothes. _I can't believe you're fucking serious._


	8. Chapter 8

Taiki climbed out of his window and securely fastened the screen back in place. He tucked his hair into the hood of his sweater and made sure that his sunglasses were in place. He looked ridiculous and he knew it, but looking decent was not worth those wild beasts called teenage girls chasing after him like a pod of dolphins after a fish. He groaned and rubbed the bump on his head he received after being pushed into the hall wall, than knocked on Yatens window. Yaten carefully looked out; saw that it was Taiki, and then opened the window.

"What Taiki?" he asked, irritated. Taiki sighed.

"Yaten don't be like that. We need to try every method possible of helping him, even if it means letting other people back in our lives. Now, I'm leaving and I just want to let you know to leave your room through your window. Don't go out the front door because that might start unnecessary problems," Yaten nodded.

"Fine. When are you going to be back?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. Probably in a few hours," he replied. "Now, I'm going. Make sure you hide the hair and eyes," he said. Yaten chuckled.

"Don't need to," he said, popping open the screen and jumping out…in female form. She was wearing a pair of short shorts, a pink short sleeved polo, and a pair of white wedged sandals. Taiki wanted to smack her. Noticing the look of shock and outrage on her partners face, Yaten laughed and waved her hand. "Relax! Nobody will recognize me! Yaten Kou is a man, I however, am a woman!" she emphasized woman by smoothing her shirt over her breasts and bouncing them.

"And what will you say when someone asks for a name?" Taiki asked.

"Uhhh…I haven't really thought of that yet, but I will when the time comes!" she said. Taiki sighed again. Yaten was impossible sometimes. "Why don't you go out in female form? It will be a lot easier then going out looking like your going to rob some vodka store or whatever the hell these people call it. And no risk of being caught as Taiki Kou! International rock star!" Taiki shook his head. Unlike Yaten, Taiki and Seiya were comfortable in male forms. Taiki preferred being female, but didn't have a problem being male. And where Taiki was considering going, he thought it would be best to be in male form.

"I'll be back in a little bit. You go have fun," Taiki said. Yaten nodded.

"Alrighty," she said, putting on an expensive looking pair of sunglasses and strutting towards the sidewalk. Taiki on the other hand, walked quickly towards the opposite direction towards a phone booth. He quickly opened it and flipped through the residence directory, carefully scanning through the M listing. After finding what he wanted, he quickly set the phone book down and walked towards his destination.

Ami Mizuno.

Ever since the Starlights left Earth, the three of them each had their mind set on a specific person. Seiyas brain was full of thoughts on Usagi, and Yaten, though she refused to admit it, had her mind stuck to Minako. She had denied at first, saying that she deserved better than a barbaric Earth girl. Seiya though, in all of her mischievous glory, had completely proved Yatens lie wrong by catching her putting a framed picture of Minako and a white cat in her drawer, taking the picture, and running through their dormitory screaming like a banshee that she knew Yaten liked Minako until she finally tripped over a pillow and fell, with a furious Yaten jumping on her and repeatedly punching into her back with a surprising amount of strength. Seiya couldn't get out of bed the next day.

Taiki smiled at the memory.

Taiki had grown to like Ami. At first, Taiki found her fascinating because she was the only female he had met since arriving to Earth that could actually think on an intellectual level. In fact, Taiki found himself challenged by her intellect. It was a challenge he fully enjoyed taking up. Everyone had agreed they were even. Instead, however, he believed she came out on top. Unlike Taiki, Ami was able to succeed in both enriching her brain and enriching her life. Taiki, instead, chose solely to enrich his mind, and when he wasn't self-learning, he was busy protecting his princess or standing in the background of his two comrades. Ami, however, was able to keep up and even surpass him school wise, while managing to enjoy the company of her friends and pursue her fairy tale idea on romance and love.

Taiki thought she was naïve and living in a fantasy world. It turned out, it was the exact opposite. Taiki had always been the one off in his own little world. Ami had brought him out of it, showing him reality: everyone who cared about him, a life other than the library, and different ways of looking at things. It was because of Amis influence that he now tried a little bit harder to enjoy the company of his two adopted sisters/brothers. It took him a while to loosen up, but when he was finally able to let things go and enjoy his surroundings, Seiya was taken by the Sirens.

Taiki blamed himself. Had he not been goofing around and instead watching the planets surroundings, he would have known about the Sirens before they got as far as they did. It was because of his foolishness that his leader, best friend, sister, and brother was now gone, lost in the cage of insanity.

He stopped and lifted his sunglasses and looked at the building. This was where Ami was apparently living. Apartment number 9044. Taiki quickly walked in, found her apartment floor, and power-walked his way to the door. He knocked and waited. No answer. He knocked again, and no answer. Taiki swore to himself. The one day since they've been back on Earth he left the apartment, Ami wasn't there. He sighed, and looked at the giant window two doors down. This would have to do for now. He needed someone to talk to before he lost his mind and by god he was going to talk to her. He slid open the window and climbed out onto the fire escape. He quickly ran three doors down to Amis apartment, threw back the screen, and tugged on the window. Much to his surprise, it slid open easy.

_Not as smart as I thought eh? _He thought to himself as he climbed in and shut the window, making sure it was securely fastened before looking around the room. It was pretty much bare, save for a comfortable white sofa, a low wooden table, and a large bookcase in the corner. A few little knickknacks rested on the built in shelves on the wall and underneath, a small television. A shelf full of DVDs sat next to the T.V. On the top of that shelf was a picture of Ami and her friends, another one had Ami, a light blue-haired man, and brunette woman in glasses who he assumed to be her parents. Next to that sat…a picture of the Three Lights. Taiki smiled to himself. _At least I know we weren't forgotten._

Suddenly, an overwhelming wave of fatigue conquered Taikis body. He found himself dragging his body through the room and to a door. He managed to open it and slump down onto a very soft, comfortable surface. That was the last thing Taiki remembered.

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Yaten hummed to herself as she sipped her iced tea and leafed through a rack of tops at the mall. This was the fourth time she had been out since arriving to Earth. The first time, she snuck out two days after Seiya tried to strangle her and found that little, peaceful spot in the park. She visited that spot another two times, the last time resulting in nearly being knocked over by that blonde ditz Usagi. Yaten pulled out a golden halter top and held it against herself as she looked in the mirror. Perfect.

Shopping had always been a stress relief for her back on Kinmoku while she was a female. Hell, when Yaten was upset, she was known for spending hundreds of dollars at shopping outlets and coming back with assistants trailing after her. Now that she was on Earth, she had been damned to that stupid male form. Not only that, she was busy taking care of Seiya, and couldn't take time to herself. The few times she did try to, she felt immensely guilty. Yaten threw the gold shirt on her growing pile of clothes and went to look at pants.

The guilt was coming in. Yaten shouldn't be out shopping. She should be back at home, helping her sister recover.

Seiya and Taiki were everything to Yaten. In fact, she had stopped thinking of them as comrades and instead began thinking of them as her sisters, her family. After all, none of them had any living family left. The three of them were connected, always in tune and touch with each other. After Seiyas incident, there was this empty gap left in both Taiki and Yatens hearts. It was depressing and sickening. Yaten wanted Seiya back. She took the pile of clothes, and dumped them on the counter to pay for them. After forking over a chunk of money that would put that blond headed terror in a red bow to shame, she took the bags and walked out.

Ahhh. Minako. The blond headed terror. Her own personal stalker. The 'Goddess of Love'. The reason why her male body constantly had a small, hand shaped bruise on the upper arm from when she clung onto her like a dying person to a water well. The sole reason why she found herself looking forward to coming back to Earth when they first planned their visit before the Sirens invasion. The reason why, when in male form, she found herself looking at her arm wondering why the bruise wasn't there. The only person she could tolerate hanging off of her like clothing to a person. And why? Yaten would never know.

Yaten could never understand what made her fall for that clingy, annoying idol chaser. It just happened, and after going back to Kinmoku, she found herself missing her, and was grateful that she had decided to, in fact, bring the picture Minako had given her of herself and that white cat. Yaten wasn't proud of her little crush on her, and was not pleased when Seiya had figured it out and announced it to Taiki. In fact, both Seiya, and surprisingly Taiki, have poked fun at her for it.

She sat down again by the water fountain, debating what to do. She was only gone for about an hour, and she had another hour or two to kill. She was tired from her bout of power shopping, and had nothing to do. She took out the stupid cell phone Taiki had insisted that they get, and found the precious number Usagi had given him almost four days ago.

_Here goes nothing._

God, she missed that bruise.

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Usagi stood against Seiya, waiting patiently for him to finally release her. They had stood against the hallway for about fifteen minutes, and Seiya didn't move a muscle. She had given up on the idea of struggling against him, hoping that if she were to stay, calm and loving, with him, he would realize he wasn't alone.

He buried his face into her hair and inhaled. He remembered Usagi very well. He remembered her love, shine, and beauty. He remembered how safe and warm he always felt when he was around her. Having her in his arms was a reminder that she was there, and as long as she stayed securely within his grip, nothing would happen to her.

He had seen her being tortured. He had seen everything that she didn't deserve happen to her. Seiya knew he wasn't strong enough to keep her safe, so he was just going to keep her there. Usagi sighed against him, and he felt himself relax a little bit. Something about her had always soothed him. In fact, at this moment, he felt more peace than he had in a long time. He felt just a little bit different.

"I will never leave you Seiya," she whispered into his chest. She made that mistake once, and she was not going to do it again. After a few more moments, Seiyas grip on her finally loosened, and she found herself slipping her arms around his waist for a hug. Seiya stiffened at her grip and cried out in fear, pushing her away. Usagi stumbled away from him, and he backed away with a look of fear. Usagi took deep breaths and held out her hands.

"I'm not going to hurt you Seiya. I just want a hug," she held out her arms. "I've missed you and I want to show you I care. I won't hurt you, I promise," Seiya slumped down against the wall, looking at her with empty eyes. Usagi walked into the kitchen and grabbed the burgers, which were, surprisingly, still edible and warm. She walked back and sat across the hall from him. She took out a box with two burgers and a box with two containers of cooled French fries. She then separated the two meals and pushed a box of food towards Seiya.

"Remember burgers? You loved them," Usagi took a bite out of her own burger. As soon as she swallowed, she felt her stomach growl for more. For once, Usagi resisted her urge to devour the delicious food. Instead, she carefully watched Seiya, who slowly picked up a French fry and inspected it. Usagi smiled at him, reached over, and took a fry from his container. "It won't kill you," she said, putting the fry in her mouth. Seiya slowly took a bite. His eyes sparked in excitement and to Usagis amazement, he grabbed the burger and ate it at a speed that could very well rival her own. He wiped sauce off of his mouth with his arm and gave her a small, intimidated smile. Usagi found herself laughing, and soon inhaled her food. At her laughter, Seiyas tentative smile grew, just a little bit. He then stood up and stretched. Usagi picked up the left over boxes and stood up. When she turned around, she felt the heat of Seiyas body almost pressed up against her. When she walked to the kitchen, he followed, so close he was stepping on the backs of her heels. Why he was acting like this all of a sudden, she didn't know.

She looked at him, and he turned to go back into the hall. At the entrance, he looked around sharply and stared. She understood this hint and followed him. He then opened the door to his room and she stepped inside.

The blinds were shut and the closet door was shut. He had three lamps in the corners of the room, each turned to shine brightly. The room was a pure disaster, and his bedspread and blanket looked like a giant knot. Other than that, everything was bare. He kneeled down next to the bed, looked at her, and pointed to the bed. She frowned, walked to the bed, and sat on it. Seiya untangled the blankets, and laid them over her, pushing down slightly so she would lie down. When she did, he tucked her in. She frowned at him, curious as to why he was acting like this. Seiya returned her frown with a look of pure pain.

"I saw you last night," he whispered in the softest voice. "You never came back,"

Her mouth dropped open, and she asked him to explain. He never did. Eventually, he fell asleep, slumped over with his head lying next to hers. She watched him sleeping for a while before drifting off into her own slumber.

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A/N: Because of the request made by some reviews, I made this chapter a little longer =] I will update as soon as I can, as long as you keep reviewing! Reviews are what encourages me to get off my ass and type out the next chapter. I love you all!

-VoldemortsNipple


	9. Chapter 9

Minako was tying her red bow into place when she heard her cell phone ring from the kitchen. She gave herself a final once-over in the mirror and ran out to retrieve it. She frowned when she saw the blocked ID, and flipped it open. _Modeling agency, _she thought.

"Hello?" she sang out in her sweetest voice.

"Uhhh….Minako?" An unfamiliar voice replied. She smiled to herself.

"The one and only! What can I do for you?" she asked.

"Well," Yaten, on the other end, realized that Minako didn't recognize her voice through the phone. If she had she would be screaming like a banshee. "Do you want to meet for dinner tonight? I have something important to discuss," At this, Yaten hoped that Minako would question her identity.

"Oh you're from the Sunshine Studios right?" she asked. _Or not… _Yaten smirked to herself, recognizing the modeling agency. She could totally use this to her advantage.

"Yes I am. My name is Leanna Tempson and I want to look over your portfolio before the next audition," she said. Imagine Minakos shock when she sees her…

"I don't need my portfolio. I already got accepted into second round," she said with a giggle. Leanna? Minako didn't recognize the name. She must be a new intern or something. Meanwhile, on the other end of the line, Yaten cursed the mistake, then quickly covered it up.

"Well we have another audition coming up and I saw your pictures. You're quite stunning and since I am, if I could say so myself, an exquisite artist, I though I could add a bit of a springy feel to your pictures. It will enhance your nature-"

"Of course!" Minako squealed, excited to have her pictures taken. This would be fun! "Where should I meet you?"

"Dai Bi Dangs," Yaten replied. "In forty minutes. I will be the woman in the black top hat," Minako nodded to herself furiously.

"Of course. Bye," she said. After Yaten bid her farewell, she walked back to her apartment, popped open the window and dropped the bags in. She climbed in, nearly tripped over her bags, and immediately left her room to go check on Seiya and Usagi. She quietly searched the apartment.

They were in Seiyas room, sleeping. Usagi was lying on the bed, covered with a blanket and Seiya was on his knees, resting his head on the bed next to her. Usagi looked so peaceful, as if all were right in the world. Seiya had a firm look on his face, as if he were focusing on something important. Yaten smiled.

_Yaten awoke with a scream as Seiya jumped on her in tears. She tried to sit up, but Seiya pushed her down and wrapped her arms around her._

_Seiya had been back from the hospital for two days. This was the first time she had left her room since being back. _

"_Seiya? What's wrong?" Yaten asked quietly, as he twisted an arm out of her grip and flicked on the light. Seiya looked at her with tear filled eyes. On her face were cuts that she had given herself, fighting in that coffin thing. Whatever fights took place those nightmares they gave her, she took out on herself…_

Yaten blinked hard, and went into her room to change. After being recovered, Seiyas body was covered in self inflicted cuts, bruises, and horrible looking wounds that she could not possibly done herself. Even when they came to Earth and switched into male form, the wounds had remained, as clear as if they had just healed.

That wasn't right. Those scars should have disappeared. And nothing the medical wing did made those disappear. It wasn't just Seiya. Everybody who had been captured by the Sirens had both self inflicted battle wounds and wounds that were inflicted by the Sirens. Those were the wounds that, for some reason, remained stubbornly visible.

Yaten scooped her long silver hair into her top hat, jumped out of the window, and began to walk towards the restaurant. She got there, a few minutes before she had to meet Minako, and was taken to a seat on the top floor, in the corner. There, she waited for her Goddess of Love.

Minako entered the restaurant wearing her favorite knee length white dress and carrying her brown portfolio. She scanned the crowd for Leanna and when she didn't see the hat, she walked up the stairs and almost immediately spotted the black top hat. She squealed to herself and walked quickly to the table. She tapped the person on the shoulder and held out her hand as the person turned around. Immediately, she was confronted with the most amazing, most familiar, bright lime green eyes. The person stood up, smiled, and took off her hat. A long stream of silver hair fell from the hat. Yaten smirked at her and held out her hand.

"Hi there. I'm Leanna Tempson and I'll be helping you wi-MMMPH" the wind was knocked out of Yaten as Mina jumped on her, squealing and giggling like a little girl.

It was great to see her again.

------------------------------------------------------

Ami unlocked her door and stumbled in with an armload of books and notebooks and with a bagel stuffed in her mouth. She dropped everything on her coffee table, swallowed the bagel, and went to her little kitchenette to drink some milk.

It had been a hard day at school. An exam on the anatomy, plus a live demonstration afterwards. Till now, she had the fumes of the chemicals imbedded into her nose and no matter what she did, the smell wouldn't go away. It was disgusting. Ami took a paper towel and wiped off her milk moustache before walking towards her room. She stopped when she saw her bedroom door.

It was wide open. She had left it closed when she left. Amis heart began to pound as she hesitantly looked inside. She slapped her hand over her mouth to hold back a scream.

There was a person sleeping on her bed. The person was bundled up, so she couldn't tell who it was. Not taking any chances, Ami ran to her kitchen, grabbed a knife for possible self defense, and went back into her room. Cautiously, she looked over the person in her bed and poked it. No response. After noting that the person was deep in sleep, she slowly pulled down the hood where long brown hair tumbled out. She set down the knife and began to finger the long, chestnut brown hair when she discovered it was in a ponytail.

It couldn't be.

She flipped him over. Taiki. There was no way in hell Taiki could be randomly sleeping in her room when he was in Kinmoku. This was a trap. She quickly dug out her transformation wand.

"Mercury Planet Power! Make Up!" she yelled. At the sound of her transformation, Taiki woke up. The fist thing she saw was a very pissed off Sailor Mercury. Taiki sat up, shocked.

"How dare you break into my house and impersonate a dear friend? In the name of Sailor Mercury I shall punish you!" Taikis mouth dropped open.

"Ami it's me! Taiki! Star Maker! Its me," Taiki said. Sailor Mercury shook her head.

"The one whom you're trying to impersonate is on another planet," she said as she raised her arm, ready for attack. "Who are you?" Taiki pulled out his own transformation headset.

"MAKER STAR POWER!" he yelled. A few moments later, a fully transformed, female, Sailor Star Maker stood. "Through the galaxy I go as a wandering shooting star. Sailor Star Maker, stage on!" She struck a pose and watched Sailor Mercury intensely for a reaction.

Dead silence.

"What are you doing here? She asked in disbelief as she detransformed. Star Maker detransformed as well. The two stood awkwardly, debating hot to react. Finally, after some long moments of silence, Taiki extended his hand.

"I will explain my reasoning for being here later," he said. "For now, I would like to get reacquainted," Ami shyly held out her arms for a hug. Taiki grinned and brought her into his arms, inhaling her sweet, spring scent.

That was the first time he has been able to relax in almost a year.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"TAIKI! YATEN!" Seiya screamed, causing Usagi to bolt out of bed in shock. Seiya was at the door, wailing and crying. "Where are they?" Usagi jumped out of bed and ran to comfort him. It was about one in the morning, and according to Seiyas screaming, neither Taiki nor Yaten had shown up yet. Usagi frowned for a moment in worry, and then stopped herself so she could focus on Seiya.

"Seiya they left for a little bit. They'll be back here," she said as she slowly put her hand on his back.

"They weren't supposed to leave! Where are they?" he sobbed. Usagi rubbed her hand along his back.

"They have friends here," Usagi explained. "They probably went to visit them. They will be back," she kneeled down next to him. Seiya threw himself on her, sobbing like a baby.

He was so terrified. It was happening. Yaten and Taiki left him. They were gone.

It was happening all over again. Seiya had witnessed their death and worse several times. He was never able to protect him. He was a horrible leader. He couldn't even keep his comrades from harm. Seiya found himself slipping back into those horrific memories

_Star Fighter screamed as she stumbled over herself. She had just found the mangled, nude body of Yaten, thrown carelessly behind the bush. She was covered with so much blood, the only way Star Fighter had been able to recognize her was from the silver hair._

_The Sirens had released her, and the first thing Star Fighter wanted to do was check on her princess and comrades. As soon as she was released, she was greeted by horror. Kinmoku was destroyed. She couldn't find anybody and had begun to wander, hoping find someone._

_Yaten was the first one she found. Dear Lord, what had happened to her princess and Taiki? Star Fighter ran away from Yatens body. She couldn't stand it. As she ran and the image of Yaten replayed in her mind, she felt her emotions go mad._

_Until she heard the screaming._

_Star Fighter ran her hardest to the source of the cries and was astounded at what she saw. It was an ally of the Sirens, a purple and white youma that stood much taller than Star Fighter, and even Star Maker, who the youma currently held entangled in its several arms. Star Fighter felt herself go into a full fledge panic._

_Yaten was dead already. This could not be happening. Star Fighter held up her arm._

"_STAR SER-NO!!" She screamed as the youma smirked and tightened it's arms around Star Maker._

_Star Makers screams penetrated her ears, heart, mind, and soul. She-_

Seiya snapped out of it when Usagi grabbed his head and pressed it into her stomach. He wrapped his arms around her and sobbed for the loss of his best friends. Usagi was in tears herself.

Seiya had gone from sobbing to screaming like a tortured animal. How in the world had he ended up like this? Her heart leapt when she heard the front door open and Yatens voice call out.

"Seiya? Usagi?" Yaten heard Seiyas crying and ran to his room. "Oh my god, did he have another nightmare? Seiya?" Seiya looked up and saw Yaten. Seiya let go of Usagi and jumped on Yaten in hysterics. Yatens eyes widened as she rubbed the back of his head.

"Is he always like this when you guys leave?" Usagi asked.

"This is the first time he's been left alone without us," Yaten said. "He wouldn't let us and we didn't want to leave him," It then dawned on Usagi.

This is exactly what Seiya needed.

* * *

A/N: Review! If there is any mistakes, please let me know. If if you have any ideas, tell me too =]\

-VoldemortsNipple


	10. Chapter 10

"_Goodnight, sleep tight_," Usagi began singing to Seiya as he lay in his bed. Although Taiki hadn't shown up yet, he had considerately called and said that he was with Ami. To reassure Seiya, they had given him the phone, where Taiki assured him that he would be back. Seiya was doubtful, but after seeing Yaten return, he was more willing to believe him.

Seiya looked up at her expectantly. She gazed back down at him with a smile.

"_No more tears_," she continued, using as soothing as a voice as she could.

"_In the morning I'll be here_," Seiya gently grabbed her hand and looked up at her. She paused and gave him a curious look.

"Promise?" he asked. "Don't leave me Odango please," Usagi nodded and continued.

"_And when we say goodnight,  
Dry your eyes  
Because we said goodnight,  
And not goodbye_," Seiya smiled and buried his face in her hand. She smelt so sweet and comforting. He began to relax, feeling more at ease. Yaten was safe. Taiki sounded okay and was with his girl. Ami was safe. She wasn't capable of harming him. He watched Usagis angelic face and listened to the rest of her song.

"_We said goodnight  
And not goodbye_" she finished. Seiya gave her a shaky smile. He settled his head into her lap, and she began to gently stroke his hair. "I'll be here tomorrow," Usagi said. Seiya nodded.

It was hard to calm Seiya down. He had been in hysterics, and Usagi was at lost for what to do. Yaten seemed to know what to do, and held Seiya, reassuring him that she was fine, and so was Taiki, and that they would never leave her.

Usagi giggled inwardly. It hadn't been until Seiya had calmed down when she realized what Yaten was wearing. She had on a black top hat with a silver, expensive looking silky top, skinny jeans, and silver stilettos. Usagi hadn't even realized she was in female form. As Seiyas breathing began to even out, Usagi looked up and noticed Yaten standing in the doorway in male form wearing a pair of flannel pants and a white oversized T shirt. Usagi glanced down at Seiya and was shocked to see that he had fallen asleep so quickly. She gently lifted his head out of her lap on onto his pillow. She then stood up and tiptoed out of the room.

"You have a way with him," Yaten said quietly after Usagi shut the door. "He wouldn't even let our princess touch him as much as he let you. Then again, he was obsessed with you so maybe it stuck," Usagi smiled. "He always said you had a shine. Maybe that's what's helping him,"

"Seiya is like a little kid," Usagi said. "Treat him like one," Yaten frowned.

"How the hell are we supposed to do that? And when did you get all wise?" Usagi chuckled.

"When I was a kid, I was afraid of being left alone because I thought my mom would never come back. Shingo, my brother, was the same way. You guys are locking yourselves in here and letting him control. He needs to know that you will come back when you go. Show him that. That'll help,"

"Somebody grew up when we were gone," Yaten said sarcastically as he went to the kitchen.

"I did actually. When I was fourteen, I found out my future had been predetermined before I was even born. I spent almost four years acting like a little kid because I didn't want to grow up. I was somewhat afraid of the future, and wanted to enjoy everything as much as possible before becoming a queen. After I caught Mamoru cheating on me, Setsuna, well Sailor Pluto is how you know her, told me that my future wasn't set in stone like I thought before. I don't know what my future is and now I'm more in control. I had to force myself to grow up so I can live my future how I want it," Yaten smiled.

"That's nice. Knowing your future like that would make life quite boring. Now, would you like to eat? I can hear your stomach growling like a wild animal from here," Usagi flushed.

"Er….sure," she said. Yaten pulled out a Tupperware container of what looked like spaghetti.

"Taiki makes awesome spaghetti," he said. "I'm surprised how fast he learned to cook Earth food,"

"What did you eat in Kinmoku?" Usagi asked.

"We have our own fruits and vegetables we eat. That's mainly what we stick to. My favorite was kimbobwe. Very sweet, yet tangy," he opened the lid and put the container in the microwave.

"Why is it that you went out female but came in male?" Usagi asked.

"Disguise purposes. I prefer, honestly, being a girl. The male form, however, is a great way to harmlessly avoid my time of the month. This is why, for the past few days, you've seen me as a boy. However, since I wanted to go out comfortably, I decided to suck it up and bear it. That is why I was a girl for the evening," When the microwave beeped, Yaten took out the spaghetti and scooped some in a plate. "Try," he said. No sooner that the word left his lips, Usagi was shoveling the food down as if she were a dying woman who hadn't eaten in a week.

"Deliciouf," she said with a mouthful of spaghetti. Yaten looked at her with disgust before he began to start on his.

"You're disgusting," Yaten said after swallowing. Usagis face was now covered in spaghetti sauce. She scooped up another large forkful.

"It's good," Usagi said as she wiped her mouth with her arm. Yatens mouth fell open in shock.

"You wiped all that off on your arm? That's sick! Have some manners!" Yaten cried. Usagi rolled her eyes and licked the sauce off her arm. Yaten, with a horrified look, grabbed his plate and walked out into the living room. "I would expect this crap from Seiya!" he said. He dropped his plate and looked in the direction of Seiyas room. "At least before the Sirens," Usagi sat down alongside him.

"It-" The phone rang, interrupting her. Yaten picked up his phone.

"Hello? Hello Ami!....I'm doing okay and you?.....Ah well that's a long story….Are you serious? You can't be serious…..Well I can't talk now….Sure! Alrighty I'll tell her…..Okay…Bye," He hung up and Usagi looked at him with confusion.

"Apperantly, Taiki fell asleep at Ami's. He hasn't woken up and she said he's been asleep since he called," That was about three hours ago. Usagi smiled.

"He looks like he needs it,"

"The guy only gets a few hours of sleep at a time, and usually those few hours are interrupted by Seiyas screaming. He needs a decent sleep," Usagi nodded in agreement, than stood up.

"I need to leave," she said, glancing at the clock. It was about two thirty in the morning, and she was becoming tired. Yaten smiled at him.

"You don't want to hear about my date?" Yaten asked with a smile. Usagi laughed.

"Trust me I'll hear it from Minako. I'll be back tomorrow," she said. Yaten stood up and held out his arm. "What? You're actually giving me a hug?" she gasped, placing a hand over her heart. Yaten rolled his eyes.

"Enjoy it while it lasts," he said. Usagi hugged him, grabbed her purse.

"Before I forget, does Minako know about Seiya?" Usagi asked. Yaten shook his head.

"I told her he was here, but that he went through something traumatizing. I also said you were helping him but I didn't go into details. If you want to you can. Taiki's right. We need to stop hiding," Usagi nodded.

"Alright. Goodnight Yaten," she said.

"Goodnight," Usagi turned around and walked out.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Would you like some tea?" Ami asked, leading Taiki out of her room. He had taken off his sweater and slung it over the couch.

"Yes please," Taiki said as he sat on the couch. He yawned and wiped his eyes. They were burning with fatigue, and his body felt like lead. How had he gotten like this? Taiki had never been this tired before. He felt his head falling forward. He rolled his eyes and wiped then in attempt to stay awake.

"You alright there?" Ami asked, handing him a cup of steaming tea.

"I'll be fine," Taiki looked at the tea and took a sip. The perfect, warm temperature made feel even sleepier.

"How is Seiya? Yaten? Kakyuu?" she asked. Of course she was going to ask that question.

"Yaten and Princess Kakyuu are fine. Seiya however, had an incident," he said. Ami frowned. "I'll explain in a bit but he not in a good state right now…speaking of which, is it okay if I use your phone? Its getting late and I need to call Yaten," Ami nodded and pulled out her cell phone.

"Of course Taiki. Here," she pulled out her cell phone and handed it to him. He called Yaten. He answered immediately.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Yaten it's Taiki," he said.

"Taiki where are you? Seiyas crying and Usagi is trying to comfort him! He thinks you're dead and is going in hysterics! Where the fuck are you?"

"I'm at Amis," Taiki said. He stood up and gave Ami a nod. She nodded back and Taiki walked off into the corner. "Let me talk to Seiya,"

"How the hell are you going to sit here and talk to him over the phone? He needs to see you," Taiki was so exhausted it was hard for him to stand.

"I can't…just give him the phone please," he said.

"Alrighty Taiki. Be prepared," a moment later, he heard a door open. "Seiya, it's Taiki," Yaten said in the distance.

"Taiki? TAIKI?" Seiya yelled into the phone.

"Seiya it's me. I promise it's me," Seiya began crying. Taiki felt his heart rip apart.

"Taiki where are you? Come back please!"

"Seiya-"

"Taiki please I don't want them to get you!" Seiya sobbed.

"I'm with Ami. You remember Ami right?"

"Y-yes," he whispered.

"I'm with her right now. She's Sailor Mercury. If anything happens she will help me. Nothing will happen and I'll be back tonight. Yaten came back right?"

"Yes…" Seiya whispered.

"I will never leave you Seiya. I'll be back tonight. I'm perfectly fine,"

"I love you Taiki," Taiki was stunned. The three of them never said that to each other. It wasn't that they didn't love each other; it was just that none of them felt the need to state what was known. Nevertheless, Taiki was touched.

"I love you too Seiya. You know that. I'll be back okay? Bye Seiya," After Seiya hesitantly hung up, Taiki found himself stumbling across the room and onto Amis couch.

"Taiki? You okay? Ami asked. Taiki gave her a slow nod before falling into a much needed deep sleep. Ami frowned and got up to check on him. It only took her one look at his face to realize that exhaustion had finally caught up with him. She took a sip of her tea, then stood up to get him a blanket.

* * *

A/N: And the healing process begins! Woohoo! The song I used was Goodnight by Evanescence. Pretty song. You should listen to it sometime :] As usual, read, review, and report any mistakes/ideas. I love you guys!

-VoldemortsNipple


	11. Chapter 11

"USAGIII!" Minako squealed, jumping on her bed. Usagi groaned and rolled over.

"Ten more minutes," she muttered, pulling the covers over her head. Minako ripped them off.

"No way little Usa! We have lots of things to discuss! I even made pancakes for you! Come on now, Lets go," She grabbed Usagi by the leg and began to drag her off the bed. Usagi kicked in protest.

"Minako get OUT OF MY ROOM!" she yelled, cursing Minako.

"Christ girl you need to cut back the cake. You slept in long enough! Its ten o' clock GET YOUR ASS OUT OF BED!" With one final, hard pull, Minako managed to rip Usagi out of bed and onto the floor.

"MINAKO!" Usagi yelled. Minako jumped on Usagi and began tickling her.

"WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!" she cried as Usagi laughed and kicked.

"Alright I'm up!" she cried, sitting up and pushing her off. Minako smiled with approval.

"Good. Be out in five minutes. You and I, girlie, have plenty to discuss," Minako left and Usagi sat up and groaned. Ten o' clock already? It didn't seem like very long since she had stumbled into her room and collapsed on the bed. For a moment she found herself wondering about poor Taiki, who had looked exhausted beyond explanation. She smiled as she remembered Yaten comment about Ami saying that he had fallen asleep on her couch. The guy needed it! Usagi stood and frowned when she realized that she was still in her clothes. After quickly changing into gym shorts and a tank top, she walked out into the kitchen, where Minako was waiting with a plate full of pancakes and a warm bottle of syrup.

"How did your date with Yaten go last night?" Usagi asked as she began to pile pancakes on her plate. Minako, being so picky about her eating, had scooped out a pear to eat with her whole wheat toast.

"It was wonderful. We ate and talked about how things have been going and all that good stuff. Later on, I took him...well her...out for ice cream. Not much to talk about other than catching up other than...oh my god Usa, she gave me a rose! A beautiful rose!" Minako jumped up and grabbed a yellow rose from the top of their fireplace. "Look how beautiful!" The rose was indeed, blooming and extravagant.

"Let me see," Usagi grabbed it and stared at it in awe. "It's so pretty!" she exclaimed, handing it carefully back to Minako. Minako nodded excitedly and set it back onto the fireplace.

"Anyways, after dinner, we went and got ice cream! It was great! Especially since Yaten always refused to ice cream and she had taken me to w walk on the beach....oh my God Usa it was fantastic! Anyways, how are things going with Seiya?" she asked. "Yaten told me that something bad happened to him and that he changed completely. What is that all about?" she asked as she took a bite out of her pear. "She didn't want to talk about it and said you would," Usagi made a mental note to kick Yaten later.

"I don't want to talk about it," Usagi said. "I can't describe it Minako. You'll have to see for yourself. He's like a terrified little kid. He's scared of everything..." Once she began to describe it, she couldn't stop. When she was done, Minakos mouth had fallen open in shock.

"Seiya? Cocky, smart, I-can-handle-anything-and-look-hot-at-the-same-time Seiya? You can't be serious!" Usagi nodded.

"Yaten and Taiki couldn't leave the apartment for seven months because he was so scared he would lose them. When he figured out they were gone last night he was in hysterics. He thought they were dead," Minako shook her head.

"Usagi you need to talk to Ami about this. She's the doctor. She's the smart one. Shes the one who can help. You might want to talk to Rei too. She's good with these kinds of things. And perhaps Hotaru...you know her...she's the one who can see the troubled soul and figure things out...you can't do this alone Usagi. Yaten and Taiki insisted on doing this alone and they completely stopped living. That obviously isn't helping Seiya any. Lets invite him over and have us all here. It might he-"

"He doesn't even like anyone to leave the apartment," Usagi said. "What makes you think he'll leave and be comfortable with a huge group of people? I know we shouldn't give in to his paranoia Minako but when he panics he gets violent," Minako gazed at the ceiling. She then stood up abruptly, pulling Usagi out of her thoughts.

"Lets go see him," Minako said. "And lets bring Makoto, Ami, and Rei. You were right when you said he needs to be around the people he loves. And you know what I can feel? That love is the answer. Come on Usa! Call Rei! I'll call Ami and Makoto!" Usagi dug her phone out of her pocket.

Yaten would not be pleased.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_"You don't mean shit to me," Usagi growled at him. She buried her head in the crook of Mamorus neck and thats when he saw it. The huge bruise on the side of her face. He looked at Usagi in shock, and Mamorus grip around her waist tightened. It clicked to him._

_"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO TAKE CARE OF HER!" Seiya screamed, lunging for Mamoru. He cried out when he bounced off of them. Suddenly, the pair were dressed like royalty. Mamoru dressed in what looked like a suit of armor. Usagi was in a long, beautiful pearl colored dress with an exquisite gold decoration on the waist. Endymon and Serenity. Seiyas mouth dropped open in realization. They couldn't be married yet! "Odango get away from him!" Usagi gave a nervous glance to Mamoru. He grabbed her arm and squeezed._

_"Don't even think about it," he growled to her. Seiya felt his body light up with fury._

_"STAR SERIOUS LASER!" He screamed, launching the attack towards Mamoru. He hadn't even realized he transformed. When the light and dust cleared, Star Fighter saw Serenitys figure slumped in Mamorus arms. Mamoru had a smirk on his face as he dropped her lifeless form to the ground. She felt all the blood freeze in his body. Star Fighter fell to her knees and let out an ear splitting wail-_

"SEIYA!" Yaten cried, tearing through his nightmare and bringing him back to reality. Seiya's heart was pounding and he could feel the burn the attack left on his hand. Behind Yaten he could see Usagis lifeless form.

"ODANGO!" Seiya screamed, throwing Yaten aside and jumping towards her body. Seiya picked it up and screamed again. "Oh my...ODANGO!" he cried

"Seiya Usagi isn't here!" Yaten cried. "Taiki!" Yaten began trying to drag Seiya up. Seiya shrugged her off. He couldn't tear his eyes off her pale body. He pressed his forehead against her cold chest and screamed.

"Seiya?" Taiki cried. Seiya could feel his panic but he didn't care.

"He thinks Usagi is here," Yaten explained. Taiki knelt down next to him.

"Seiya look at me," he said as he began to shake him. Seiya burst into tears and cradled Usagi against him. "Seiya? Usagi isn't here. She left last night and she said she'll be back this afternoon."

"I killed her," he sobbed. Seiya had never felt so sick since his planet was attacked by Galaxia. He head began pounding like somebody punched him. He felt everything around him spinning and his stomach churning. He felt so sick he wanted to throw up. He felt his throat burn and his entire body go limp. Seiya fell to the floor and cradled Usagis body like a teddy bear. He blinked and Usagi was gone. He shot up and patted the space where Usagis body had laid. "ODANGO!" he screamed, looking frantically for her body. "ODANGO?" he cried out, breaking out in a new wave of sobs. Taiki wrapped his arms around him and Yaten knelt down beside him.

"She isn't here. She's at her apartment with Mina-"

"WHERE IS SHE?!" Seiya screamed, jumping on Taiki and punching him in the face. Yaten pulled Seiya off and pushed him away from Taiki.

"SHE'S NOT DEAD!" Yaten screamed, standing in front of Taiki in case Seiya decided to attack him again. "Whatever just happened was a dream. Whatever you saw was not real Seiya. Usagi is fine. She's going to be here soon," With that, Yaten knelt down in front of him. "Stop being so scared all the damn time. We're fine. Usagi's fine. Everybody is fine," Yaten stood up and buried her face in her hands. Seyia gazed up at her, than at Taiki, who was wiping a bit of blood off of his face with his sleeve. He bit his lip and looked to the floor.

Seiya felt lost. He has never felt so lost and empty. Everybody around him was dying every time he closed his eyes and he saw their death when he woke up. He couldn't understand what was going on with him. Ever since...that day...he felt disgusting, dangerous, terrified, worthless, nervous, and sick. It was disgusting. He was disgusting. He was a disgrace to his team-unable to protect himself and his loved ones.

"Seiya are you okay?" Taiki asked.

He needed to see his Odango. He needed her. If he didn't see her he would explode.

"I want Odango," he whispered. "I need her please let me see her-" Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Right on time," Yaten muttered, walking to the door. Taiki followed and Seiya followed shortly behind. "Who the hell said you could bring all these people?"

"YATEN OH MY GOD!" Rei squealed, jumping on Yaten. "Wait why are you a girl?"

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE ALL OF YOU PEOPLE DOING HERE? USAGI!"

"Oh quit your whining Yaten and let us in," Minako said. As Makoto, Ami, Usagi, Minako, Michiru, Hotaru, Haruka, and Michiru came in.

"You three?" Yaten asked, looking at Michiru, Haruka, and Hotaru. Haruka crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at her.

"Yes," she said in a warning tone.

"Wasn't there four of you? Wheres the creepy one?"

"Time Gates. Be nice. She can end your existence before it began," Michiru said. "You too Haruka," Haruka scowled. At the sight of all the people, Seiya felt his stomach churn and tremble. He turned around and as he walked back, he felt Usagis hand on his.

"Seiya come back out," she said with her beautiful voice. He blinked and remembered seeing her corpse. Seiya gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to tackle her into a hug. All was well. All had always been well.

Seiya was tired of being scared. And a part of him knew that talking to all these people would help. Seiya gripped Usagis hand and they walked back into the living room.

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A/N: Please review =] Didn't get as many as I did last time. Wheather you like it, don't like it, have suggustions, are letting me know of any errors, anything, please review!

*points to little green button below*

Review! Now. Please?

-VoldemortsNipple


	12. Chapter 12

Seiya gripped onto Usagis hand for dear life as she sat down on the floor. Everybody was surrounding them, and everybody was staring at him curiously. This attention was making him uneasy. The silence wasn't helping much either. Why was everybody staring at him like this? Seiya felt cold sweat slide down his face and his heart hammer in his chest. He found himself gripping tighter to Usagis hand as he tore his gaze away from the people in front of him and onto the floor. Even staring at the floor, he could feel their gaze. As he felt his body began to hyperventilate, he felt a piece of him wanting to look at each and every person in the eye. That little piece of him wanted to be fearless. Seiya tried to listen to that piece and glanced up. He immediately met the dark blue, daring eyes of Haruka. Upon looking at them, Seiya felt a hammering in his head.

_Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune stood in front of Galaxia, their traitorous bracelets gleaming in the wierd light their alternate demension provided. Next to him, Usagi was screaming in hurt and disbelief. Star Fighter was astounded. She was their princess! And these two were turning enemy weapons at her. Behind them, the fading bodies of Princess Kakyuu, Star Hearler, and Star Maker were twinkling away. All of them were screaming in pain. It wasn't supposed to be painful! Star Fighter was in shock and couldn't move. From those traitorous soldiers, a smirk grew and the bracelets began to glow. Star Fighter couldn't speak, so she grabbed Usagi and put her behind her. A beam of light hit her and Star Fighter felt her entire body clench in pure flesh tearing agony. It felt like her skin was being shaved off. She could almost heel her hair being ripped from her scalp and dozens of knive piercing her body. The pain was unbelievable. Through her squinted eyes she could see another beam of light and the piercing sounds of Usagis screams as she was forced to endure the same pain she was feeling. In the background she could hear Galaxias mockery-_

His memories were interrupted when his vision shattered and a comforting warmth drifted down his trembling body from his heart. When he opened his eyes, he was on the floor, with a terrified looking Usagi, Yaten, Minako, Michiru, and Makoto hovering over him. As the beautiful warmth soothed the pain away, he found himself looking up at his angelic Odango and smiling.

"Take it off," a small voice in the background said. "Usagi take off the brooch!" Now the voice was more urgent. The warmth faded away and he sat up. He looked at Usagi, who was wiping tears her eyes. Haruka looked very disturbed, Hotaru held a stern, serious gaze, Rei looked sick, and Taiki and Ami were pale. Seiya frowned, and layed his head in Usagis lap, the memory and the horrific pain forgotten. Usagi wrapped her arms around his head and cradled him against her as she burst into tears. Seiya looked at her.

"Why are you crying? Don't cry Odango," he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and nestled his head in her lap. For a few moments, the only sounds that could be heard was Usagis tears.

"Seiya what the FUCK IS GOING ON?" Yaten screamed as she too, began to cry. Seiya looked up at her, suddenly feeling very nervous.

"Yaten come here," Seiya said, outstretching an arm to her. Yaten collapsed next to him.

"Seiya what the fuck? WHAT THE FUCK? YOU DON'T REMEMBER THAT?" she screamed, breaking into a chocked sob. Seiya looked at her in fear, and then at Minako, who had kneeled down next to Yaten and wrapped her arms around her. Seiya left Usagi to sit by Yaten.

"Do you seriously not remember anything that just happened Seiya?" Ami asked quietly. Seiya thought hard. All he could remember was sitting down with Usagi, so he said this to Ami. Ami frowned in return.

"I saw what happened," Hotaru said. "And I know what happened with the Sirens too," Seiya looked at her in horror and Taiki looked at her in confusion.

"How did you know?" Taiki asked.

"I could read it in his mind," Hotaru said. "And yes he can be healed. But not with the silver crystal so don't use the brooch again," she said, looking at Usagi. "It can hold it off, but when he gets another one of those attacks, it will be worse. The only way he'll heal is if he faces whatever he's had to face. That's all I know," she finished off quietly. Silence followed.

"I'm sorry," Seiya said quietly, eyes falling to the floor again.

"Don't be Seiya. We're here for you," Rei said with a shaky smile. She got up from the couch and hugged Seiya. At the action of this girl he was never really close to hugging him with love and warmth gave him the beautiful, warm feeling of hope.

Hope. This is what Taiki and Yaten had tried talking to him about after he got back from the Medical Ward. They had explained that he will get better if he believed he could. Seiya however, was scared of anything and everything. Everything had seemed to jump out and taunt him. Slowly, his fear of everything began to fade as memories of what he had to endure with the Sirens grew. The people closest to him were his worst fear and greatest weakness. Every night and in his daydreams, he saw his loved ones dying and betraying him.

Now, all of those who had died and betrayed him and each other were in front of him, looking at him with concern. In the eyes of Usagi, Taiki, and Yaten, he saw love. Happiness swelled in his heart and rushed throughout his body, crushing his fear and worries.

They weren't going to leave him. In fact, they came to him. With a huge, silly grin, he pulled Rei towards him with one arm and wrapped the other arm around Yaten. Everybody stared at him in shock. He let them go and smiled. He then leaned down and nestled his head in Usagis lap again.

Seiya was going to do whatever it takes. He could see his support. He could feel their love.

And now, he could smell the brownies that Makoto brought out of her bag.

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A/N: Just thought I would have the chapter where Seiya finally notices reality and really begins to heal himself. Yaay! Story is halfway done now!

Review if you like it. Review if you don't like it. You are not allowed to leave this window without reviewing! If you do anyways...that's just mean.

-VoldemortsNipple


	13. Chapter 13

Taiki had been shocked at Seiyas smiles and new found shine. Where in the hell had that come from? One minute, he's withering on the floor horrifically screaming in pain, and the next, the pain was forgotten and Seiya was clinging to Usagi with a glowing smile. He had even shown bits of his old cockiness in between. Usagi was only here for a few days, and she has made more progress with Seiya in that short amount of time than he and Yaten had gotten out of him in the past year. What was it that she had that they didn't? Besides that silver crystal of course.

But the little girl whos name he could never seem to remember who had way too much wisdom for her age had said that the silver crystal, whatever it was, would make Seiya better for the moment, but would make him worse in the long run. What the fuck had those Sirens done to him? Another event that had shocked the shit out of Taiki:

Haruka had hugged Seiya. All on her own.

Yes, as Haruka, Michiru, and the all-knowing scary little girl were leaving, Haruka had gone up and hugged Seiya. A quick two second hug, but a hug nevertheless. In a way, this little occurence had shown him two things. One, Seiya's breakdown was worse than Taiki played it out to be and two, outside the apartment, Seiya had a huge support system. No wonder he was getting better so fast. Seiya had a family besides him and Yaten.

And when Makoto had brought out a dish of delicious homemade sushi and a nasty smelling container of caviar that had Yaten drooling while the other girls began to, on their own, tidy up the disaster that was their apartment was when Taiki realized that these girls were a second family.

Friends would stop by, hang out, and show support. Only family would think to bring your favorite foods and spend the night to stick around and help make your life easier. Taiki sighed. What were they thinking, isolating themselves like they had?

"Hello you," a sweet voice behind him said, sliding behind him with her dainty hands on his shoulders, expertly rubbing away his knotted muscle. He leaned back into her touch. Ami, Usagi, and Minako had been staying there with then for the last couple days since everybody else. He was actually beginning to get used to having the girls around. In face, Taiki was beginning to like it.

"Hello Miss Mizuno," Taiki said with a smile as he felt his tension drift away. Dear Lord this girl was amazing. Just mere presence filled him with a beautiful peace he had never felt before. Taiki couldn't remember feeling more relaxed. He sighed again in pleasure as she began to rub his soreness away...

"HAHA LOOK AT TAIKI! LOOK! HE LOOKS LIKE HE'S CUMMING FROM HER TOUCH! That's so virgin! Damnit dude you need to get laid..." Taiki glared at Yaten as the other girls broke out into a fit of giggles.

"Cumming? He's already here..." Seiya said, looking curiously at Yaten. Now, it was Taiki's turn to laugh. Either Seiya never knew what that Earth term meant or somehow, he had forgotten. Taiki found himself smirking at Yaten.

"Looks like somebody needs to explain," Minako said, grinning at Yaten.

"Explain?" Seiya asked.

"Yes. Cumming. It doesn't mean somebody arriving. It means something else. Our dear friend Yaten will tell you," Minako said, patting her now-girlfriend on the shoulder. Yaten glared at her.

"I'm not explaining that!" she cried. Seiya frowned.

"Why?" he asked.

"Do tell Yaten," Usagi said. "You said it. You gotta explain it," Yaten sighed.

"Disgusting slimy white man loogies that a penis hawks up whenever he bones a girl. There? Happy?" she growled, sending Taiki and the other girls into fits of snickering while Seiya looked dumbfounded.

"Wait...wha-" Seiya began.

"DON'T ASK!" Yaten cried, throwing her hands in the air. Seeing Yaten angry lit a perverted sense of humor deep within Seiyas mind. Yaten mad was...funny. Very funny as a matter of fact. So funny, Seiya wanted to see it again. Seiya found himself standing up and went over to Yaten. Yatens face softened at Seiyas innocent look.

*Poke*

Yatens smiled. "Yeah Seiya?"

*Poke*

Yatens smile faltered a bit. Usagi began to giggle. "You got my attention. What do you want?"

*Poke*

This time, Seiya had poked her in the arm a bit harder. Yaten frowned. "What Seiya?"

*Poke* *Pokepokepokepoke*

Now, Seiya had began to repeatedly poke Yaten in the arm. As an annoyed expression spread across her face as she realized what Seiya was doing. "God damnit what?"

*Pokepokepokepokepoke*

Now Seiya had taken his other hand and poked her repeatedly with it too, doubling the poking rate. Now, Taiki and the girls were laughing and Seiya had a wicked grin. Yaten felt herself grow annoyed.

"GOD DAMMIT SEIYA STOP POKING ME!" Yaten yelled. Immediately, the poking stop and the smirk on Seiyas face faded, being replaced by a look of pure terror. As he began to back away, Yaten noticed the glares everybody in the rooms had given her and realized her mistake.

It has been almost a year since Seiya had annoyed her as a childish way of enjoyment.

He had done it again. The old Seiya had shined through for the first time in what felt like forever, and Yaten had ruined it.

"Oh God Seiya I'm so sorry," Yaten said, walking towards Seiya with outstretched arms. Seiya took off behind Usagi, ducking away from Yaten. Shame and guilt began to creep up on her. How the hell had she let herself ruin the moment?

For a moment, after seeing Seiyas smirk, she had forgotten his condition. Now, it appeared as if she had lost Seiyas trust, along with the respect of everyone in the room.

Just fucking great. She had scared Seiya.

"Yaten what the fu-" Usagi began with an angry look.

"Hush up Usagi," Ami said with a glare. "We don't need anymore fighting," Yaten had simply made a mistake. And Ami believed that Seiya would not be helped by the constant babying. Forgive and forget was what would probably be best. Outstretching a situation never helps anyone any. Seiya began to pull Usagi towards Taiki and Ami on the opposite end of the room from Yaten. Now, Seiya wouldn't even look at her.

This guilt was beginning to kill her. The guilt was sickening. The guilt was...interrupted by a soft kiss on her cheek.

"I have an audition coming up tomorrow and need to be at my studio in a couple hours," Minako whispered in her ear. "Sunshine studios at eleven. Come if you want," Minako hugged Yaten, gave everyone in the room a kiss on the cheek and a hug for Seiya and Taiki before slipping out of the apartment. Now, it was only Ami, and Usagi. As Seiya began to cuddle more into Usagi, she glanced up at Taiki.

"Mind if I spend the night again?" she asked quietly. Taiki shook his head.

"All of you are welcome to spend the night again," Taiki asked. "In fact, if possible, I insist that you do. We really enjoy your company,"

"I have classes tomorrow, but they don't start until the afternoon. I'll be more than happy to spend the night," Ami said, wrapping her arms around Taikis neck. As she did, Taiki inhaled her wonderful scent of fresh rain. How the hell was it that this girl always smelt like rain? It was strange.

But Taiki sure as hell loved it.

"Hey lets put in a movie!" Usagi said. Yaten silently picked out the latest Star Wars and slipped it in the DVD player. As she glanced up, she saw Seiya staring blankly at her while curled up between Usagi and Taiki. Through out the movie, Yaten found herself lost in thought. Even after the Minako left, Yatens feeling of guilt did not go away.

At least until that night, when she had woken up with the sudden urge to use the bathroom.

As she sat down, half asleep, on the toilet, she felt herself slip off and fall to the cold floor on her bare butt with a thud. As this sudden shock awoke Yaten, she blushed. _I fall off on my ass? Seriously?_she thought as she sat back on the toilet. Immediately, something slick on the surface caused her to again, fall on her butt on the floor.

"What the hell?" Yaten yelled, standing up and swiping her hand over the seat. Oil. The seat was covered in oil. Probably that damn Usagi or something. Yaten angrily grabbed a towel and wiped the bowl furiously to get the oil off. When she was finally satisfied, she sat down and proceeded to use the restroom. When Yaten wiped however, the most horrible, burning sensation fired in between her legs. The poor woman screamed from the shock and the pain of whatever she had just wiped on her poor, sensitive ass.

"Yaten? YATEN? You okay?" the annoyed voice of Taiki shouted through the door. Yaten stood up, pulled down her over sized T-shirt, and proceeded to walk bow-legged towards the door, trying to ignore the tingling, burning sensation. She threw open the door to see an annoyed, sleepy looking Taiki, Ami, and Usagi. Behind them was a blank looking Seiya. "What happened?" Taiki asked, frowning at Yatens awkward pose.

"Something burned the shit out of my twat that what happened!" Yaten yelled. "There I was, trying to take a piss and I kept falling off the toilet because SOMEBODY-" she glared at Usagi, who gave her a confused, dazed look. "-decided to cover the fucking seat with oil. When I pissed and wiped, my whole fucking snatch burst into flames!"

"Gonorrhea?" Taiki asked, annoyed.

"Gonorrhea? What the fuck?" Yaten asked.

"Usually, when you have it, it burns when you urina-"

"I DON'T HAVE THE CLAP YOU IDIOT!" Yaten yelled, wincing at the searing pain between her legs. "WHAT THE FU-" Yaten felt a sharp pain on the side of her head when a small, hard object struck it. Ami leaned over and picked it up off the floor.

"Menthol?" she asked. She turned around to see Seiya with the beginnings of a smirk.

"Don't yell at me again asshole," he said in nearly a whisper. His smirk grew just the slightest as he then grabbed a sleepy Usagi by the arm and gently led her back into his bedroom, leaving behind a stunned Ami and Taiki, and a shocked Yaten.

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A/N: Read and review! Please? Pretty please?

-VoldemortsNipple


	14. Chapter 14

As Usagi cuddled up against Seiya, she grew curious of his most recent doings. How had he don't that? Especially since she was sleeping right next to him. Then again, Usagi slept like the dead so it would be hard for her to wake up...nevertheless, she sat up, placing the arm Seiya had protectively covered her with in her lap.

The last few times Usagi had slept over, Seiya had insisted on her sleeping with him. While she lay next to him, he would hold her as if she were a teddy bear, and kept her close to him throughout the night. If it weren't for Seiyas fear of the world and fear of something bad happening to her, Usagi would have thought of it as cute.

As she stared at the wall, Seiya wrapped an arm around her and lied his head on her shoulder. He sighed peacefully, and she felt his cheeks lift in the hints of a small smile.

"I feel so much better," Seiya said as he nestled his face in the warm crook of her neck. "You know, you have a really bright light. And after I saw you the first time, your light scared me. Maybe it was just because you jumped on me and I wasn't expecting it...but after I saw you the second time, your light filled me with that beautiful warm feeling I had last time we were here on Earth. You're so bright. You were glowing like the...what was that term Taiki had tried to tell me? Oh yeah, the light at the end of the tunnel. My world after...the Sirens was like a starless sky. In my starless world, you shone like the moon," Usagi felt her heart melt.

"Well I am the moon princess," she said with a smile. Seiya gently pushed her down on the bed and rested his head on her chest.

"You _are_a princess," Seiya said. "I felt so much better the more I was with you. And-"

"Why not Taiki and Yaten?" Usagi asked.

"Ever since they saved me, they were so worried for me. After I got back from the medical ward, I wanted to be by myself. Taiki and Yaten, along with Princess Kakyuu and other people in the palace, were constantly hovering over me. I couldn't be around so many people. It freaked me out. So I shut myself in my room. I couldn't eat or do anything. Hell Odango, I could barely think without crying. Eventually, they figured out I wasn't eating and they sent in a nurse to give me a shot of supplements and put me back on an IV. She kept trying to hold me down and it scared the shit out of me and I panicked," Seiya stopped and sat up. His eyes again looked empty. Exactly like they looked when she had first seen him a week ago. Usagi sucked in her breath.

"You wanna know why it scares me? Do you want to know why I can't fucking live?" Usagis eyed widened and she exhaled in shock. His tone was so dead and devoid of all emotion. She sat up, wondering if she should hug him or avoid touching , Usagi gave a nod, and Seiya pressed his palm against her forehead. Almost immediately, a warmth filled her body. She closed her eyes, and all of a sudden, she could see Seiya, Yaten, and Taiki. The images she saw began to play in front of her, like a movie.

_"Star Fighter, shut the fuck up and go do your patrols!" Star Healer yelled, stomping her foot on the beautiful, cream colored floor. Star Fighter slumped down against the red drapes hanging down from the wall and narrowed her eyes at Star Healer._

_"But I don't want to! Can't you cover my shift? I covered yours!" she whined. "I'm tired! I'll do the afternoon patrols,"_

_"I have afternoon patrols!" Star Maker yelled. "Quit complaining. Its pissing me off," Star Maker complained in annoyence. _

_"But I'm tired," Star Fighter complained. Yaten cried out in frustration and kicked Star Fighter in the leg._

_"Get up lazyass and go do the damn patrols! I am not going to be waken up in the middle of the night again because you decide to be lazy and sneak a nap in the lounge! Get up!" Star Fighter grumbled as she slowly stood up and glared at Star Healer._

_"I'll see you in an hour," Star Fighter said as she stomped down the corridor. The corridor was beautiful. Lined down the hallways were beautiful little trees. Except they didn't look like trees...the trunks were a dark, silky looking cherry brown and the leaves were shimmery gold. The floor, walls, and ceiling were silver and exquisite portraits hung on the walls._

At this point, Usagi felt a weird, warming sensation and all of a sudden, she was seeing this vision through Seiya...well Star Fighters, eyes.

_As she stepped outside to survey the palace surroundings, Usagi, inside the head of Star Fighter, took in the surroundings. The lime green, luscious grass, the tall, pointed, lime green trees, and...the sound of screaming. Someone was screaming. Star Fighter abruptly turned around and ran towards the sources of the screams. As she neared, a young woman, on her knees in the grass, came into view. A beautiful woman with long flowing red hair...Princess Kakyuu?_

_"Princess!" screamed Star Fighter, picking up the speed. When she reached her princess, she looked around but could see no possible causes. Had she gotten hurt? As Star Fighter looked over Kakyuu, Usagi could feel Star Fighters body fill up with acidic anticipation and her heart pound in an icy dread. "Princess!" All of a sudden, what looked like long green vines ripped out of her princesses body, and wrap themselves around her own. Before Star Fighter could react, the vines squeezed her muscular frame, cutting into her skin and causing her to grunt. She began to struggle against it, determined to break free. She screamed out in pain and frustration, and, had Usagi been able too, she would have screamed too. Star Fighter looked over to what was her princess, and now saw what looked like a huge insect, a good foot and a half taller than Star Maker. Star Fighter screamed again and threw her body around, trying to loosen the grip of the huge insect._

_"GET THE SOLDIERS! PROTECT THE PRINCESS!" screamed Star Fighter at the top of her lungs, since she was unable to activate her headset.. Even Usagi could feel the dry pain Star Fighters screams left in her throat. "SOUTH GARDENS! INTRUDER! PROTECT TH-AAAAAGGGHHH!" Star Fighter let out a blood freezing scream as she felt her body burning with a sick, boiling heat that led to her choking for air as her lungs exploded. The pain tore through her veins and forced its way into her organs and every other crevice in her body. The pain lasted for several seconds, before the world plunged into darkness_.

Usagi sharply inhaled as she was brought back into reality. Seiya was gazing down at her with the most heartbreaking look she had ever seen. She stared back, and felt her body clench up in sharp, uncontrollable pain and release, until Seiya grabbed a hold of her hand.

"Breath Odango! Breathe!" Usagi slowly and shakily, let out a breath and inhaled, until she felt her body slowly cool down and return to normal. When she was able to breathe normally again, she turned and looked at his dark, dead eyes.

"That was my first living nightmare. I couldn't protect my grounds. I was too weak to protect the palace. I don't even remember when I woke up. All I felt was something on top of me. I was conscious, but I couldn't move my body or even open my eyes. I don't even know what it was that was on my. All I know was that it definitely wasn't a creature like us, and all I could remember from that was that creature violating my body. I couldn't even protect myself. I was too weak to protect my own damn body. You know what Odango? After that nurse tried to shove that fucking IV in me, I tried to get away. Four people had to hold me down I couldn't even protect my body from unwanted things even after I was rescued," Seiya hugged himself, and tears began to stream down his face like a river. "I can't be a girl anymore. I don't want to be," he cried softly. Usagi crawled next to him and pressed her lip against his salty, tear stained cheek. As Seiya cried, Usagi kissed away the tears and rubbed the pad of her thumb in soothing circles on his cheek.

"You're safe here though Seiya. The Sirens aren't going to get you here. You're still strong a-"

"Not really. After my...violation, all I saw was nightmare after nightmare. I couldn't tell was was reality and what was fake. Some, I knew were fake but it terrified me. I was actually seeing it, and it always came out worse than I thought it would be. It happened so many times...I don't know what happened to me Odango. I saw what the Sirens do. They wait until you're insane. They wait until you're too terrified to even live. They wait until you're begging to die and that's when they take you. They take your body to disguise themselves. I don't even know what they look like. All I know is that it somehow manages to take control of your body, and they use it for whatever they want. All I know is that the Sirens themselves are too weak to live on their own. They need a body.-"

"You are strong," Usagi said simply, as she wrapped her arms around him. Seiya nuzzled his face into her neck. "If you were weak, you wouldn't have lasted there. If you were weak, they would be the ones in control of your body. They took control of you for a few moments, but in the end, you kept your body in your hands. You won that battle. But as long as you're afraid of the world, and as long as you're afraid to be who you are and afraid of what's going to happen, they win. Remember how you got back at Yaten? And, for that moment I'm assuming that you weren't afraid hi...god dammit I'm used to Yaten being a boy...her reaction? You gained some control over the fear. You're beginning to win now, just by you telling me all of this. You know how much we all care about you. Surrender to the love," As soon as those words left her lips, Seiya gathered her into a huge hug, and pulled the blanket over them.

"I love you Odango," Seiya whispered as he snuggled closer to her.

"I love you too," she whispered back as he gave him a long, loving kiss on his forehead. As Seiya nodded off into her arms, she pulled him closer, holding him protectivly as if he were a teddy bear. Neither moved for the rest of the night.

* * *

I am so sorry for the long wait for an update. Too much stuff going on in the summer and haven't been able to get on long enough to post the new chapter. Anyways, it's up now and please, review loves!

-VoldemortsNipple


	15. Chapter 15

When Seiya woke up, the first thing he felt was the warmth. The beautiful, cozy, wonderful warmth that filled every bit of existence. He smiled and snuggled in closer, and was immediately hit with the scent of strawberries. Odango. His Odango. His beautiful Odango. he glanced up and noticed that her arms were wrapped securely around him, pulling him against her small frame protectively. He sighed and sat up, gently taking her arms off of him. He then kneeled and, for the first time since he, Taiki, and Yaten came back to their apartment, opened up the window.

The brilliant sunshine blinded and burned Seiyas eyes for a moment. He blinked several times to adjust his eyes before slowly opening them. There were no clouds in the sky. Seiya stared at the sky for a moment before looking down. In front of his window was a small field of grass and beyond that, the street where a few cars drove along. It was a fairly normal view, but to Seiya, it was the most beautiful sight. He looked back down at Usagi, who was still sleeping like an angel.

"Odango! Wake up!" Seiya yelled cheerfully, shaking her awake. She was up in an instant.

"Seiya? Is something wrong?" she asked. Seiya pulled up the blinds and jumped off the bed and took off his shirt. He opened a drawer and began digging through it to find another one.

"Yeah somethings wrong. I'm in here that's whats wrong. I'm in here when I could be out there," he said, pointing to the window. Usagi frowned. Seiya pulled out a red, button up shirt and quickly put it on. "Well? Aren't you going to get ready?" he asked as he quickly buttoned up his shirt. Usagi gave him a funny look as he took of his sweatpants and took a pair of black pants off of the hanger in his closet. He stepped into the pants and begun hopping around the room, pulling them up. Usagi slowly took off the blanket and sat up.

"You wanna go out?" Usagi asked, surprised. Seiya grinned and nodded.

"Yes I do! Lets go!" Usagi smiled.

"Here let me brush your hair first," she said. "It's a disaster. Go ahead and go into the living room. I'll be out in a moment," Seiya nodded and walked out into the living room. He immediately begun opening every set of blinds in the kitchen and living room, exposing the beautiful sunlight. He then opened up the windows, inhaling the beautiful scent of fresh air and grass.

He hasn't seen the outside Earth world since they arrived three months ago. Now, Seiya was beginning to regret it. Furthermore, he was beginning to feel guilty at not letting Taiki and Yaten go out and experience life outside their apartment. He begun to imagine how trapped they must have felt, being forced to stay inside. Seiya tore himself away from the window and ran into the closest room: Taiki. He threw open the door.

"TAIKI! TAIKI GET UP GET UP GET UP!" he yelled excitedly, rushing to his window and yanking open the blinds. He then slid open the window and turned around to see Taiki groan and sit up. The look on Taikis face resembled pure shock. "What are you staring at? We're going outside! Get up! Get up!" Seiya grabbed Taikis arm and begun to tug at it.

"You...want to go outside?" Taiki asked in a dazed voice. Seiya nodded and smiled.

"Get ready! We're going outside!" Seiya cried before running out, leaving a stunned Taiki behind him. Taiki jumped out of bed when he heard Yatens bedroom door slam open and ran to the door. Usagi followed quickly and they got to his door just in time to see Seiya, who had already opened up Yatens window, jump on her bed. "YATEN!" he yelled, causing Yaten to jump up and scream. Seiya bounced up and down on her bed like a five year old. "Yaten! Get up!"

"SEIY-Seiya what the hell?" Yaten finished quietly, remembering how Seiya had reacted last time she screamed at him. Seiya grinned childishly.

"Go ahead and yell at me! Just get up and get dressed! We're going outside! Come on everybody lets go outside! Now! Get ready!" Yaten slumped back down into bed.

"It's eight o'clock in the morning Seiya! We'll go la-FUCK SEIYA STOP THAT!" she yelled as Seiya took her stuffed giraffe from next to her pillow and began beating her in the face with it wish a devilish smile. Taiki begun to chuckle and Usagi roared in laughter. Ami quickly came out of the bathroom.

"Whats going on..." her voice trailed of as she was greeted to the sight of Seiya attacking Yaten with the girraffe, and Yaten angrily trying to grab the stuffed animal away from him. Ami too, begun to giggle.

"ALRIGHT I'M UP GOD DAMMIT!" Yaten yelled, sitting back up. Seiya pushed Yaten off the bed and jumped off.

"AMI! Ami! Get ready! We're gonna go outside!" Seiya cried, rushing out into the living room, followed by Usagi, who came out wearing a light pink sundress and had her long blond hair flowing like a golden stream behind her. She sat on the couch and motioned or him to come to her. "Odango? Why don't you wear your Odangos anymore?" he asked as he took his hair out from his usual rubber band.

"I don't know Seiya...I guess I just grew tired of it. Why?" she asked as she reached behind him and begun to shake out his long, jet black hair. Seiya reached to Usagis hair and began to run his fingers through it.

"Can you wear your odangos for me? Just this once? Please? I wont ask again," he asked, giving her a sweet, puppy dog look. Usagi laughed and nodded as she moved behind him. She then began to gather his hair behind him and gently brush through it. As she brushed his hair, Ami came out wearing white pants and light yellow button up shirt. She had pinned a bit of her pretty blue hair back with a bobby pin and polished up her outfit with a silver chain necklace with Mercury's sign on it.

"Ami? Do you have extra bobby pins?" Usagi asked as she tied Seiyas hair into his usual ponytail.

"Yes I do," Ami said as she jmped up and went to the bathroom to get her bobby pins. Yaten came out wearing a jean miniskirt and a black linen shirt over it. She rolled up the sleeves and sat down to put on her black heels.

"Yaten you look like a hooker," Usagi said as Ami handed her the bobby pins. "Why are you dressing like that?"

"Gotta look hot Usagi. Just because the rest of you are happy walking around looking like you just had a shopping spree at Wal Mart doesn't mean I have to be," she said as she begun to buckle the other one up. Usagi sighed and expertly begun to fashion her hair in its old, two-buns-on-top-of-her-head hairdo. After she was done, Seiya grinned at her and begun to play with the hair streaming down a bun.

"TAIKI! HURRY UP I WANNA GO OUTSIDE!" Seiya yelled. Taiki came out wearing a pair of black pants and a dark blue shirt that made his lavender colored eyes sparkle. Somehow, this too-casual dress seemed to make Taiki look even more exotic then he already did. "ALRIGHT YOUR ALL HERE! LETS GO OUTSIDE!" Seiya cried as he threw open the door to the apartment building. "Wait...wha....oh," Seiya said to himself when he realized they were in their building.

"Seiya, outside is this way. And here, wear your glasses. I'm pretty sure you're not ready to deal with a mob of stupid psyco crazy fan girls," Yaten said as he stuck a pair of black sunglasses on his face, grabbed him by the hand and led him to the direction of the door. Usagi took his other hand and the group made their way to the front door. Taiki opened up the door for the group and together, they went outside. The group walked out into the grass.

"You okay Seiya?" Usagi asked when Seiyastopped suddenly. He fell to his knees on the ground and began to tremble. His eyes glazed over and he began to breathe in short, sharp, strangled gasps.

"Seiya? Seiya?" Yaten asked, waving her hand in front of his face in a panic. "Seiya!" Ami pushed Yaten aside and kneeled down snapped her fingers in Seiyas face.

"Seiya! Follow my finger!" she commanded as she stuck up her finger and begun to move her finger side to side in in front of him. His eyes made no movement to follow it.

"Is he okay? Ami? Whats wrong?" Usagi cried in panic. Ami responded by slapping Seiya in the face.

"AMI!" Taiki cried. Usagi gasped.

"WHAT THE FUCK YOU BITCH?" Yaten cried as she pushed Ami aside. "Seiya?" Seiyas gaze fixed onto Yaten and his eyes blinked rapidly. "Whats wrong with you?" he yelled at Ami.

"He was losing himself...I had to bring him back," Ami said in a whisper.

"How the fuck is hitting him supposed to help?" Yaten yelled.

"Its okay," Seiya said in a small voice. He gently pushed Yaten aside and scooted toward Ami. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her gently. "I had a bad memory. You saved me," Dead silence followed.

"I'm sorry Ami," Yaten said, bowing her head in shame.

"Yaten? Ashamed? Ami! Relish this moment! It's never happened before," Seiya chirped, suddenly much cheerful again. Seiya stood up and held out a hand to Ami. She gave him a small smile and grabbed it. He helped her up and looked around him. "I'm kind of hungry," Seiya said.

"Lets go eat then!" Usagi exclaimed, determined to end the awkward moment. "Lets go eat at the Waffle Shop!" she said. "You guys like waffles right?" Usagi asked. "Because I want waffles and it's close by!"

"I like waffles," Ami said, grabbing a hold of Taikis hand. Taiki grinned down at her and used his other hand to tuck his long, chestnut brown hair into the back of his shirt. "Seiya, you should probably tuck your hair away too. You too Yaten," Seiya quickly stuffed his hair down the back of his shirt while Yaten threw a fit.

"I'm not doing that! Hello Ami! I have boobies here! Big bouncy boobies!" Yaten then proceeded to bounce them up and down.

"Yaten stop doing that! Nobody wants to see you bouncing your breasts!" Taiki yelled, annoyed. Yatens constant urge to bounce her breasts around to remind them that she was a girl was irritating.

"Yaten stop it. Yours are nothing to be proud of," Seiya said, giving her a smirk. "In my female form, mine are much better. Nice and round and soft. Not all floppy like yours," Ami, Taiki, and Usagi laughed while Yaten begun to fume.

"Bullshit Seiya! Yours are all wierd! Hell, at least I look good with boobs! You look like a tranny!" Seiya gave Usagi a wink and wrapped an arm tightly around her wast.

"Tsk tsk tsk. I sense jealousy. Don't be. You're still a cute little thing with your cute little heels," he said, patting Yaten on the head. Yaten gave him the dirtiest look before slowing down to Taiki and Amis place.

"Just like old times isn't it Yaten?" Taiki said with a smile. "I'm surprised you keep forgetting he isn't the same person," Yaten glanced at him, then stared at Seiyas back as he walked in front of her, with a bit of his old cocky confidence showing in his stride. Happiness swelled up in her heart and she felt her eyes swell up in tears. Before they could fall, Yaten fished through her purse for her sunglasses and put them on before anybody could notice.

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A/N: I updated early! Woohoo! Let me know if there are any mistakes mkay? Don't forget to leave a review!

-VoldemortsNipple


	16. Chapter 16

The group sat in the restaurant, waiting for their food to come and waiting for Minako to join them. Minakos agent had taken Minako earlier that morning to go shopping, much to Yatens annoyance and she agreed to meet them at the Waffle House when she was done. As they waited, they leafed through the menu, taking their time in deciding what to eat. Decision making wasn't too hard for the Earth senshi, but for our fellow Kinmoku visitors, deciding on what to eat was not so easy.

"Whats an omelet?" Seiya asked curiously, frowning at the picture of Waffle House's Famous Western Omelet. Yaten rolled her eyes and snapped her menu shut.

"Its a bunch of random shit stuffed together in a disgusting fried egg sandwich," she said. "I've had it before. It was stuffed with the shitty remains of dead animal. Not even the good parts either. It made me sick. Now somebody help me decide weather I should get the fruit salad or if I should have a veggie scramble. Does anybody know which one is better? Probably the fruit salad...I'll ask Minako when she gets here," Her eyes widened when she saw the beverages section. "Ooohhh...Bloody Marys sound good now...HEY WAITER GUY!" she called, snapping her fingers. Taiki smacked her upside the head.

"Yaten! You don't talk to them like that! They are waiters. Not your slaves," Yaten rolled her eyes.

"Taiki. Their job is to make sure we are happy and get whatever we want. Technically, they are. There you are Mr. Waiter. Bloody Marys for everybody! Plus one more. Hurry up now!" she said as she leaned over to talk to Seiya. The waiter frowned at the arrogant little silver haired woman.

"I need to see everyones ID," the waiter said in an annoyed tone. Yaten glanced up to see Ami and Usagi glaring at her. She mentally smacked herself for forgetting that the two girls weren't even twenty yet. Yaten sighed, and crossed her legs, making sure that her already short skirt hiked up another two inches. She then leaned over and rested her head on her hand.

"Do we really need ID here?" she said innocently, nibbling on her lip. "I feel so...uptight right now. A drink would really help me loosen up," She glanced up at him through her hair and nibbled her lip seductively.

"Your drinks will be right out," he said with a grin, walking back towards the kitchen. Ami raised an eyebrow.

"For one pathetic flirt you got a table of under aged people drinks? Wow," Ami said, shaking her head.

"That's because Yaten can make anyone she wants think that she'll have sex with them," Taiki said, rolling his eyes. "As soon as we came here and discovered what sex was and the affect it had on the male side of you Earth people, there was no stopping her,"

"Whore," Seiya coughed into his napkin as he winked at Usagi. Usagi smiled and rested her head on Seiyas shoulder. Seiya took this opportunity to wrap an arm around her shoulders and rest his head against the warm crook of her neck, breathing in the heavenly scent of strawberries.

"I'm heeere!" Minako squealed from behind their table, taking a seat n front of Yaten. She set an armload of shopping bags down next to her. "Seiya! You're here?" she squealed excitedly, jumping up to give him a hug, just as she sat back down, the water arrived with a big tray of Bloody Marys in hand.

"Here you go sweetie," he said with a smile and a wink. Minako took note of this and narrowed her eyes down to slits.

"Thank you!" Yaten replied cheerfully, taking each drink and passing them down the table. After he left, she noticed her girlfriends glares. "Minako relax! It's only for drinks," she said, reaching out to touch her hand. Minako sighed and took a drink.

"I've never even thought of doing that," she said, sipping the drink. "Okay. Its okay to flirt. For drinking purposes only," Minako said, breaking out in a grin.

"I've never had vodka before," Ami said, smiling sheepishly. "Usually I have them made virgin," she began sipping down her Bloody Mary.

"Oh my God Ami has been devirginized!" Minako squealed loudly, jumping up to hug her friend. Ami turned a deep shade of pink. Everyone else laughed. "It's okay Ami it was bound to happen sooner or later. How does your first taste of vodka taste?" she asked, planting a kiss on her cheek and going back to her chair.

"It isn't as bad as I thought...I kind of like it," she said, finishing off her drink. "Is there any chance I may get more?" Taiki handed her his drink with a small smile.

"You can have mine," he said. "I have never cared for drinking these types of drinks," he said.

"Get that dick out of your ass and drink!" Yaten said, finishing hers off. "And Ami don't you worry. I can get us more!" She held up her hand and snapped her fingers. A moment later the waiter was at their side.

"Same drink order as last time only make half of them Mamosas. We need variety here," she said. The waiter nodded and wrote the order down on his notepad.

"Are you guys ready to order?" he asked. As the group finished placing their order, the waiter winked at Yaten and left.

"Now Taiki, don't waste a good drink. Chug the damn thing," Taiki looked at Ami, who smiled and nodded. He sighed and swallowed the entire drink in two gulps. Although Taiki was normally against drinking, he had to admit that it did help deal with Yaten and her whorish behavior. Almost immediately, the waiter came back with another tray full of drinks. This time, everybody drank another round. And another. And another. Pretty soon, the table was full of loud, rowdy, tipsy under aged young adults. When the food came, they devoured the food like savages. The moment they were done, Taiki went to the register to pay, with the group behind him.

After a rather unstable walk home, the affects of the alcohol were beginning to wear off due to the amount of food they ate. When they got back into the apartment, Yaten immediately disappeared into her room. Taiki threw himself on the couch and looked up at Ami, who had happily thrown herself in the shoulders of Minako and Usagi. he held out a hand to her.

"Misssss Ami!" he called out to her. When she looked up, he grinned. "Come over here and give me a hug!" Ami laughed and stumbled over to Taiki. When she got to him he pulled her down, threw his arms around her, and buried his face in the crook of her neck. "Ahhhhhh Ahmii you smell so good!" he said, inhaling her scent deeply.

"What does she smell like? A book?" Seiya laughed. "Has to be a book. It's the only thing Taiki will get off on,"

"She does NOT smell like a BOOK!" Taiki cried out. "I am NOT that big of a geek!" Minako jumped up, untied her hair from ribbon, and styled it to resemble Taikis usual ponytail. She took the thickest, largest book on the shelf and slid down on the floor next to the shelf. She opened it and put a stern look on her face.

"WILL YOU GUYS SILENCE YOUR HOLE IN THE HEAD LONG ENOUGH FOR ME TO FINISH THIS INTERESTING BOOK?" she yelled out, causing everyone to laugh.

"Oh god! Seiya yelled. "Thats exactly what Taiki would say!" he burst out in laughter as Minako threw the book aside and took the ribbon out of her hair.

"I am not a GEEK!" Taiki yelled over the top of Amis head. "She smells like genapa!"

"What in the hell is a genapa?" Usagi asked with a slight slur in her words.

"It is an orgasmic fruit over in Kinmoku!" Yaten yelled, from the hallway. A moment later she appeared, holding a glass bottle of a foggy liquid in one hand and a tray of shot glasses in the other. "Look what I've got Seiya!" she yelled, setting it down on the table. Seiya jumped up and grabbed the jug.

"Patron! You remembered my favorite drink!" Seiya cried happily.

"Yaten! It's barely one o'clock! We can't get drunk now!" Taiki said. Usagi grabbed the bottle, opened the cap, and poured a shot.

"Who cares? Let's celebrate!" she said, handing the shot to Seiya. She poured tequila in the other glasses and passed them out. After everyone had a shot glass, she raised hers up in the air. Yaten put her glass down and shoved Usagis hand down. Usagi cried out in annoyance as the tequila spilled on her dress.

"No no no Usagi! I'm Seiyas best friend! I do the toasting!" she yelled. "Now then. To my dear little best friend Seiya," Usagi grunted and poured herself another shot. Seiya looked at Yaten eagerly and all eyes went to the little silver haired woman still in stilettos. "There has been so many things that happened in the last year. Events that I will not say so I don't kill the buzz. For the last year, you were were a pitiful excuse of a Kinmokian. Always crying. Always scared. Never wanting to come out of your room and being, in general, a big pussy. Now, after blondie here came along, you finally grew a nice set of balls and you-"

"YATEN YOU INSENSITIVE COCK! Move over I'll do the toasting!" Taiki said, standing up from the couch and pushing her over. Everyones stared at Taiki in shock. "Now then. Seiya, in just a couple short weeks, you have grown dramatically stronger. You have overcome all kinds of shit none of us can fathom overcoming. You came out a stronger, better person and even though there is still more healing you need to do, I, along with Yaten and everyone in this room will be here, by your side, pushing you ahead. Fuck Seiya we love you! To Seiya!" he yelled. Everyone laughed and took their shot.

It was going to be an intresting afternoon.

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A/N: Not too much happening in this chapter. But good news! I got a laptop! I can update quicker!

Anyways, leave a review!


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Sorry for the majorly long writers block. This chapter is very short, but the next one will be longer. Read and review!

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She just couldn't enjoy herself.

Yaten looked at her friends, pouring drinks and enjoying each other. Taiki, for the first time since Seiya's disappearance, looked completely carefree and happy. Seiya finally had a spark of life, and looked much healthier than before. Minako and everyone else was celebrating their return and head over heels happy to see them. Everything was perfect. Two months ago, Taiki and herself had been losing hope in Seiyas recovery, and wouldn't even have imagined this moment. Now that their hopes have finally been answered, Yaten couldn't bring herself to embrace it. Something was wrong.

Not too long after Taiki's little speech, Yaten had been tipsy and laughing. Then, in a split second, the effects of the alcohol had disappeared, and a heart-sinking feeling had replaced it. There was a break in the flow. It just didn't feel right. Yaten set down her screwdriver and walked into her room. She lied down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. As she meditated on her thoughts, her mind began to wander towards that night when they did patrol.

_Star Healer wiped her sleepy eyes and she continued to make her way across the entertainment rooms on the second floor. She hated their nightly patrols. After spending all day guarding the princess and doing training, the last thing she wanted to do was walk around the corridors of the enormous palace when she could be resting her tired feet and getting her beauty sleep. As she sat down on the marble floor to rest, she heard a scream, and immediatly jumped up, ready to defend._

_It was Star Fighters scream. _

_She ran down the corridors, towards Star Fighters cries. It only took a minute before she was at the balcony, looking over towards the gardens._

_A vile best had tentacles wrapped around Star Fighters body, and she was flipping around like a fish out of water. The scene looked att too familiar. A little over a month ago, Star Fighter had gotten bored with the lack of excitement during patrols, and had managed to use a creature she had found somewhere to make it look as if there was an attack on the castle. Their fellow Sailors had raced down, bracing themselves for a fight when the thing suddenly stopped, and Star Fighter had rolled over, laughing herself to tears while the creature made strange chucking sounds._

_It turned out to be a friend she had made from a planet they had done training at. One that she had befriended and convinced to take on the form of something dangerous looking. It was a prank that severely pissed everyone off, and Seiya had to suffer dearly afterwards by going on lock down and probation. Apparently the head of their palaces security didn't find her little joke funny at all._

_Damn her for trying that again._

_"Fuck you Seiya! Nobodies falling for your shit again!" Star Healer yelled in annoyance. She was too tired to put up with this shit. She walked away from the balcony, determined to end her patrols quickly and make herself a nice drink before bed._

She could have saved him.

That thought itched at her every day. She couldn't stand herself. She couldn't even bring herself to talk about it. When they had discovered Seiya went missing, she had brought up what she saw to Taiki, who had flipped out at her for assuming and being so careless. Now that she looked back at it, she knew that Taiki had only said that out of panic and anger. In fact, Taiki had apologized for her outburst at Yaten later, after Seiya was found. But after seeing Seiya's horrendous metal condition, Yaten couldn't let herself forgive herself. She had become so set and determined to protect Seiya. She couldn't bear to make the same mistake she did before.

As she pondered on, she felt something nagging inside her even harder, as of someone was trying to tell her something. She closed her eyes and let it in. All of a sudden, images appeared in her mind. Images of Seiya being tortured. Images of him screaming. The all too familiar memory of his kidnapping.

They were back.

They were talking to her. She could feel it. She could feel the images and the memories of Seiya's aftermath flowing through her, playing like a movie in her mind. The voice of one of the alien specialists who had studied the Sirens began to speak to her.

According to her, the Sirens were clever, tricky, and mind boggling. They could invade the minds of anybody, especially if they were attached to their victims. Those sneaky bastards. They wanted her to come. They wanted to destroy her.

Yaten sat up in bed and grabbed her transformation headset. She knew where they were too, she could feel them. A small instinct screamed at her to get Taiki and everyone else, but something inside of her ignored it.

She was out the window moments before Seiya's panicked screams began.


	18. Chapter 18

The group had settled down on the couch, more calm and slightly tipsy. After a few shots of alcohol, they had decided to hold off and wait until later that day. Taiki had taken the bottle back into the kitchen, claiming that it was too early to drink and to wait until after dinner. As they settled down to watch a movie, Usagi noticed that Seiya, who had his arm around her, had begun to fidget and rub his forehead.

"Are you okay?" she asked, rubbing his hand with hers. Seiya squeezed his eyes and nodded.

"Just a little headache. Wheres Yaten?" Usagi looked up. She was the only one missing from the room.

"She's probably in her room," she replied. "Want me to check?" Seiya nodded, and Usagi stood up. "Did you guys see Yaten go to her room?" Makoto nodded.

"She got up and went to the back about fifteen minutes ago. Why?" She glanced at Seiya, who was now rubbing his face in his hands.

"Seiya wanted her. I'll go check. Want me to get an asprain for you?" Seiya nodded. usagi walked down the hallway and knocked on her door. "Yaten?" No answer. "You didn't drink very much! Did you pass out or something?" No response. Usagi opened the door and cracked it open. As she peered inside she noticed that her bed was empty, and she opened it wider. "Yaten?" The room was empty. Usagi went to the bathroom and found the door open with the light off. She frowned to herself, then opened up Seiya and Taiki's room. No Yaten. She walked back out into the living room.

"Yaten's not there," she said. Taiki stuck his head out from the kitchen. The smell of cookies drifted into her nose and she felt herself get distracted by the smell. It smelt so good...

"Check my room," he said. "Sometimes she goes in there to use my laptop.

"Your laptop is in the living room and I already checked. Seiyas too, and the bathroom. She's not in there," Taiki swore under his breath.

"I'll call her phone. Maybe she went out to the store or something," Usagi handed Taiki the house phone. As he dialed, Usagi picked up a bottle of asprain and took it to Seiya, who now held his head between his knees. Ami knelt behind him, trying to massage his head. As the sound of Yaten's cell phone rang from the kitchen table. Taiki turned off the house phone and picked up Yatens phone. "She left it here," he said, sounding confused. As Usagi knelt down by Seiya, she heard the sounds of his strangled gasps.

"Seiya? What's wrong?" she asked worridly, running her hands through his ponytail.

"I need asprain. Wheres Yaten?" Usagi became mildly alarmed as she put two in her hands and held them out. Seiya took it and quickly swallowed them.

"How would Yaten leave without her phone? She always takes it with her...at least she did the last time you were here," said Minako, who stood up and looked around worridly.

"Yaten's gone?" Seiya asked in shock, jerking his head up. He cried out in pain and lowered his head back, only to feel an explosion of pain sear through his head. Minako ran into her room, then ran back out a moment later.

"The curtains are closed and the window screen was off...I think she left," Minako cried out. She begun to crack her knuckles. "Somethings wrong,"

"I sweat to god if she's pulling a prank..." Rei grumbled, standing up.

"She wouldn't leave like that. Out the window? Why couldn't she use the door? She didn't want us to see....something is wrong," Taiki mumbled to himself. All of a sudden, Seiya clutched his head and screamed a wild, animalistic cry.

"They're back!" he screamed. "They're back they're back they're back! Yaten!" he screamed, leaping off the ground and nearly stepping on Ami. Pure adrenaline and fear numbed the roaring pain in his head as he ran to her room. He immediatly ran to the nightstand next to her bed and yanked open the drawer. Her transformation headset was gone. Panic begun to set in.

"YATEN!" he screamed, falling to his knees. He pulled his knees up and begun to sob and scream hysterically as Taiki and the girls ran in. Taiki jumped on the bed and looked into the drawr, noticing the absence of the headset.

"Oh my God," he muttered.

"They're back! They're going to kill her! Yateeeen!" he screamed. Usagi threw herself next to him and cradled the head of the sobbing boy. Behind her, she could hear Minako and Rei transform. As Sailor Venus and Sailor Mars took the place of her friends, Makoto and Ami began to transform.

"What are you guys waiting for? She couldn't have gone far in fifteen minutes! Transform!" Taiki ran to his room to get his transformation headset. Usagi gently lifted Seiyas head up. Her heart felt like it had ripped in two as s saw Seiyas blotchy, tear stained face. Gone was the spark of life that had been there before. Now were the dead, lost eyes that she had looked into when she first saw him again. _Oh God Yaten what is wrong with you? _

"Seiya listen to me. We're going to find her and we're going to bring her back. The sooner we leave the better. You need to transform. We'll bring her back," as she begun to take out her broach, Seiya broke out into a new wave of tears.

"I can't Odango I can't...it's weak. Star Fighter is weak. She's dead Usa she's dead," Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them away. She smoothed her hand through his hair and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"She's not dead Seiya. You're still here. Fighter is still in you," Sailor Star Maker appeared back in the doorway.

"Usagi, Seiya transform! Now!"

"STAR FIGHTERS DEAD!" Seiya screamed, jumping up and flinging Yatens lamp off the nightstand. "SHE'S DEAD!" Sailor Venus went up to Seiya and held his hand.

"You stay here in case Yaten comes back. We'll go get her. Don't you worry Seiya," Seiya punched the wall behind her, causing her to shriek in surprise and jump back.

"She'll die! She'll end up like me! Oh my God I don't want her to end up like me," he sobbed.

"She won't. We'll bring her back," Usagi said firmly. "You need to stay here Seiya, so they won't hurt you again. We need as many of us as possible. We neeleave now," Seiya, through more tears, nodded. Usagi held up her broach.

"_Moon Eternal Power!_"


End file.
